Speedster Kennedy: 'World medal just the start for me'
Even just "a bit upset" about the colour of his medal, Lachlan Kennedy is adamant that his landmark world indoor championships silver will be just the launchpad for his rocket sprint rise in 2025.
Kennedy was pipped by an agonising one-hundredth of a second in the 60 metres final in Nanjing on Friday, but after winning the first ever medal by an Australian in the blue riband event of the short-track championships, the 21-year-old declared it was just the start for him and the country's new legion of speedsters.
Even if he's been eclipsed by some of the feats of the phenomenal 17-year-old Gout Gout, then Kennedy's breakthrough, along with Torrie Lewis's lightning progress in women's track, has only shown that Australia could soon offer a triple threat in global sprinting.
Or the way Kennedy put it at the Chinese venue: "I will keep showing them that (Australian) athletics is no joke.
"Just because we're so far away from everyone doesn't mean we ain't got what it takes to compete with the world's best!"
The quicksilver Queenslander had already shown in Canberra in January that he's a serious talent, clocking 6.43sec in an outdoor meet - even if helped by a 1.6m following wind - to become the 10th fastest man in history over 60m.
But this Nanjing performance was another step up on his indoor debut, with the unfamiliarity of his surrounds not fazing him as he clocked 6.50sec in the final, the quickest ever by an Australian indoors, only to be edged out by Briton Jeremiah Azu.
Look at that roar 🦁Jeremiah Azu storms to 6.49 to claim the world indoor title in the men's 60m at the #WorldIndoorChamps💨 pic.twitter.com/2riYd26XL6
— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) March 21, 2025
"I know I can do so much more, this is only the beginning. I'm a bit upset I didn't win, but I definitely got the next best thing," Kennedy said.
"Racing three events, with eight hours in between them was weird for me, but in the heat I stumbled and almost fell over after crossing the finish line.
"When I got to the semis, I was hesitant and tensed up a bit and then I thought, if I fall over in the final, I fall over - and I just went for it."
Kennedy's time eclipsed Matt Shirvington's national indoor best of 6.52 at the same event in Maebashi, Japan, in 1999, and could be the springboard for a special campaign in which he has Patrick Johnson's national 100m record of 9.93sec in his sights.
"It's already been really a good season, so I hope I can carry this momentum towards Japan for the World Championships, but before that, I'm gonna do nationals back in Australia and completely focus on the 100m now," he explained.
"Hopefully I can go sub-10 seconds soon. I definitely want to keep doing this for as long as I can, and be a role model for younger athletes coming through.
"Heck, yeah, this season has been my favourite so far. There's so much more to do and more to come.
"I definitely want to go sub-10 in the 100m, that's my goal for this season, and then I want to break the Australian record. It's well within reach for me to do at the Maurie Plant Meet (on March 29 in Melbourne) or Nationals (on April 10-13 in Perth).
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


NBC Sports
an hour ago
- NBC Sports
San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama staying at Shaolin temple in China for a few days
Victor Wembanyama is in China, and it's not all about vacation. The San Antonio Spurs star is in the midst of what's expected to be a 10-day stay at a Shaolin temple in Zhengzhou, China. The temple is a place that welcomes visitors who wish to study Chan meditation, Shaolin Kung Fu, traditional Chinese medicine and more. The NBA China office confirmed that Wembanyama is at the temple, and some Chinese media also confirmed his presence there with the temple itself. 'Concentrate on training!' read part of a social media post on the NBA's Weibo account, which also revealed the plans for a 10-day stay. Then again, the secret was getting out through other social media means anyway. Spurs Fam,Wemby is out for his morning run! @spurs #WembyDaily #update Some photos of Wembanyama with a shaved head - it wasn't shaved when he arrived in China - and wearing a robe similar to the other monks began widely circulating this week. One of the photos showed the 7-foot-4 center sitting on a Chinese style chair in front of multiple Buddha sculptures. Perhaps the 'tallest monk' in history, both ancient and modern. During a private visit to China, San Antonio Spurs basketball player Victor Wembanyama had his head shaved at the Shaolin Temple in Henan Province, donned monastic robes, and shared a vegetarian meal, preparing for… There evidently was some sightseeing going on earlier in the trip as well. .@wemby exploring China! 'Victor Wembanyama, live from China, on the Great Wall itself, having an amazing time. It's crazy,' he said on a video posted to Instagram by the Spurs' account and others. Wembanyama is expected back in the U.S. in the coming weeks and likely will be with the Spurs' delegation that goes to the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas next month. The Spurs, like many teams, often have many players on their NBA roster with the summer league team for various events. The 21-year-old Frenchman led the NBA in blocked shots during the regular season, despite his season ending in February - just after his first All-Star Game appearance - because of deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder. The Spurs are hopeful that he will be able to play when next season begins, and the French national team also has expressed hope that Wembanyama will be able to play for his country at this summer's European championships. Wembanyama was the league's rookie of the year last season and was widely expected to be a front-runner in this season's defensive player of the year race. He attempted 403 3-pointers and blocked 176 shots this season - no player in NBA history has ever finished a season with those numbers - and he was averaging 24.3 points, 11 rebounds, 3.8 blocks and 3.7 assists when the DVT was detected. The only other player in NBA history to finish a season averaging all those numbers was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1975-76.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Canadian teenager Summer McIntosh sets two world swimming records in three days
Canada's Summer McIntosh celebrates winning the gold medal in the women's 200-meter individual medley at the 2024 Paris Games. McIntosh set a world record in that event Monday night. (Brynn Anderson / Associated Press) On Monday night, Summer McIntosh won the 200-meter individual medley at the 2025 Canadian swimming trials to set her second world record in just three days. She had already achieved one world record at the trials in Victoria. Advertisement McIntosh won the 200-meter individual medley in 2 minutes, 5.7 seconds. The previous world record of 2:06.12, set by Hungary's Katinka Hosszú, had stood for 10 years. After shaving a second off her previous best time on the backstroke leg, McIntosh was still a tenth of a second off Hosszú's previous record pace at the final turn. But McIntosh crushed the freestyle leg in 29.65 seconds, another personal best, to finish in world-record time. 'It's been one of those records that's always been in the back of my mind since trials two years ago,' the 18-year-old Toronto native said afterward. "I've been knocking on the door on this one. I've just tried to chip away, chip away at it. To finally do it, it's kind of like 'Wow, I've finally got that done.'' Read more: Lopez: Three years away from the Olympics, L.A. is tripping over hurdles and trying to play catchup Advertisement Two days earlier, McIntosh had reclaimed the world record in the 400 freestyle. She first set the mark with 3:56.18 in 2023, but was bested the same year by Australian swimmer Ariarne Titmus' 3:55.38. But on Saturday, McIntosh was back on top of the world after swimming a 3:54.18. 'That last 100, I'm usually really, really hurting. But I flipped at the 200, and I was just cruising," McIntosh said. "I knew I was having a strong swim and I could tell by the crowd and the way they were cheering that I was probably close to the world record, so I really tried to push that last part for them.' In between those two historic swims, McIntosh also improved on her Canadian record in the 800 freestyle, with a time of 8:05.07. U.S. swimming star Katie Ledecky holds the world record in that event after finishing in 8:04.12 at the TYR Pro Swim Series in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., last month. McIntosh won four medals at the Paris Olympics last year — three golds (200 butterfly, 200 and 400 IM) and one silver (400 freestyle). She holds the world record in the 400 IM; she swam it in 4:24.38 at last year's Canadian swimming finals. Advertisement With three more days of competition, is there a chance she'll grab a fourth world record before the event is over? Maybe. The 400 IM is scheduled for Wednesday. Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Queen's Club 2025: Emma Raducanu breezes through first round as Katie Boulter survives wobble
moving on: both raducanu and boulter progress to the round of 16 (John Walton/PA Wire) Emma Raducanu, Katie Boulter, and Heather Watson all started their grass court seasons on the right foot today with first-round wins at the Queen's Club Championships. Women compete at Queen's this year for the first time since 1973, and the hosts welcomed the Tour to South-West London in some style. Advertisement The British No2 Raducanu bounced back from a disappointing second-round exit at Roland Garros with a comfortable 6-1 6-2 win over Spain's Cristina Bucsa. The Spaniard had won the only previous meeting between the pair in the first round of this year's Singapore Open, but this time she was no match for the 22-year-old wildcard and Raducanu strolled to a comfortable win. "I'm still trying to find my groove on this surface," Raducanu said afterwards. "I knew today would be a very difficult match, I lost to Cristina earlier in the year, so I was trying to make sure that didn't happen again and fight to get myself into the second round." Advertisement Raducanu is likely to face a tougher task in the next round, where she could meet current Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova if the Czech seventh seed overcomes Slovak Rebecca Sramkova. cheery: emma raducanu starts the grass season on form (Getty Images) For Boulter, the going was not so smooth. She was pushed all the way by Australian qualifier Ajla Tomljanovic, requiring a deciding set to win 7-6 (4) 1-6 6-4. The 28-year-old British No1, who secured a doubles victory alongside compatriot Raducanu on Monday, was broken in her opening game, but found herself in a position to serve for the set after taking a 5-3 advantage. But Tomljanovic immediately broke back, forcing an opening set tiebreak in which she was edged out by an emphatic winner from Boulter. Advertisement The qualifier seized control in the second set, winning five straight games to force a decider, and made it six games in a row when she claimed the first game of the third. comeback: katie boulter fought back after a tough second set to beat Ajla Tomljanovic (AP) Boulter began to swing the contest in her favour, breaking Tomljanovic's serve three times to make it 5-4 and, with the Australian serving to stay in it, digging deep to see herself through after nearly two-and-a-half hours. Earlier, Watson set up a second-round meeting with fourth seed and former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina after upsetting world No27 Yulia Putintseva, 107 places above her in the rankings, 6-4 6-3. She won all four of her break points, closing proceedings in just an hour and 22 minutes. Francesca Jones hit six double faults as she was beaten in straight sets 6-2 6-4 by McCartney Kessler of the USA. Additional reporting: PA, Reuters