Australia's sprint renaissance set to go next level

Yahoo

09-04-2025

Hopes are high the magical 10-second barrier will be broken as Australia's next wave of sprint stars converge in Perth for a glimpse of what promises to be a glorious future.
The rapid emergence of Gout Gout has already set tongues wagging around the world, with the 17-year-old Queenslander even drawing comparisons with the great Usain Bolt.
But it seems Gout is just part of what is shaping up to be a golden generation of Australian sprinting.
World Indoor 60m silver medallist Lachlan Kennedy put his name up in lights by beating Gout last month in the men's 200m at the Maurie Plant Meet in Melbourne.
Upset in Melbourne 👀🇦🇺's Lachlan Kennedy storms to a 20.26 PB in the 200m at the Maurie Plant Meet 💪He edges out world leader Gout Gout, who ran 20.30 for the 🥈 in his first senior competition 👀#ContinentalTourGold pic.twitter.com/XoWdtEwwKS
— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) March 29, 2025
Gout and 21-year-old Kennedy will again go head to head in the 200m when they front up at the Australian Athletics Championships in Perth, which runs from Thursday to Sunday for the U20 and Open categories.
Unfortunately for sprint fans, Kennedy won't be head-to-head with Gout in the 100m, given Gout will compete in the U20s sprint on Thursday evening and Kennedy in the Open category on Friday and Saturday.
Nevertheless, both stars are aiming to crack the 10-second barrier, meaning it could be a double dose of joy for Australian sprinting at the meet.
The current Australian men's record is 9.93 seconds, which was set by Patrick Johnson in Mito, Japan in 2003.
"I'm aiming for a sub-10 time for sure," Kennedy said.
"In one of the rounds, I'll do it and then I want to try and break the Australian record in the 100m and I really want to go for 19 seconds in the 200m.
"I think that's more than possible, it'll just be how my body can handle the rounds."
Goodness, Gout Gout 👀The 16-year-old Australian sprint star makes this 10.04 (+3.4) 100m look easy…. pic.twitter.com/yHPAzV3j3I
— FloTrack (@FloTrack) December 6, 2024
Gout broke Peter Norman's 56-year-old Australian 200m record late last year when he clocked in at 20.04 seconds - a time faster than what Bolt ran at the same age (20.13 seconds).
Kennedy posted a personal best of 20.26 seconds in the 200m when he beat Gout in Melbourne.
So can Kennedy get the better of Gout in the 200m for the second time in a row when they lock horns on Sunday?
"I'm confident I can win the double," Kennedy said.
"I mean, Gout is obviously incredible. He's the Australian record at 17 years old for a reason, it's nuts. But that's not going to stop me running with confidence now."
Other sprint stars who will complete in Perth include Rohan Browning, who is the second fastest Australian ever in the 100m with 10.01 at Tokyo Olympics, 19-year-old defending national 100m champion Sebastian Sultana and Paris Olympian Josh Azzopardi.
It's not only the men who are burning up the track, with 17-year-old Leah O'Brien this week announcing herself as a future star by smashing a long-standing 100m Australian record.
O'Brien posted 11.14 seconds in the U18 Girls 100m final in Perth on Tuesday to break Raelene Boyle's 57-year-old Australian U18 record.
It means O'Brien now holds the equal-fourth fastest time for an Australian woman over 100m.
O'Brien will return to the track in Perth in the women's 100m in a bid to take down current Australian record holder Torrie Lewis, whose personal best is 11.10 seconds.
Bree Rizzo (nee Masters), who qualified for the 100m semi-finals at the Paris Olympics, will also be part of the star-stacked women's field in Perth.
West Australian pole vault star Kurtis Marschall will be aiming to crack the six-metre mark when he competes, while the women's high jump promises to be a spectacle headlined by Olympic medallists Nicola Olyslagers and Eleanor Patterson.
Olympic silver medallist Jessica Hull will lead an all-star cast in the 1500m, with Australia's finest middle distance stars including Australian 3000m champion Georgia Griffith.