British runner Jake Odey-Jordan goes viral after taking the foot off the pedal too early in 200m race

A British teen has gone viral after he took the foot off the pedal way too early in a 200m race in Slovakia.

Jake Odey-Jordan dominated the field in heat four at the U18 European Athletics Championships, and was well out in front with about 50m to go.

With a sub-21 second time well within reach, the 16-year-old slowed to almost a jog in the final stages of race, glancing behind him but no realising how close his fellow runners were.

Overrun in the final moments, Odey-Jordan would eventually finish fifth with a time of 22.12, and was knocked out of the competition.

“It is all right. I mean, it is my fault, so I cannot be sad about anything but myself,” Odey-Jordan said.

“It is what it is. It felt good. It was not the fastest run, but it felt good. For sure, it could have been sub 21. But it is all good though.

“I am just out here, it is my first race on this meet. I just tried to get on my legs, nothing hurts me or nothing like that.”

It was a devastating finish for the talented athlete, with sport pundits trying to see the bright side of a lesson learned for the up and coming star.

“A young man who now has the benefit of never doing it again in his armoury, aged 16,” broadcaster Stan Collymore wrote.

“Probably watched a video of Bolt easing up, not realising Bolt was still doing 6,000 miles an hour when jogging.”

Athletics journalist Tim Adams said Odey-Jordan was one of the brightest rising stars for Team GB.

“The first point here is that he will never forget this and it could be a blessing in disguise in the long-term,” Adams wrote.

“The second is that he is one of the UK’s most talented young sprinters with incredible potential. 

“At 16, he has already run 20.55 over 200m.”

The viral moment came a little over a month after Spanish race walker Laura García-Caro lost a European Championship bronze by celebrating too early, and Australian cyclist Ruby Roseman-Gannon was gifted her first World Tour triumph after a rival also went early with her celebrations.