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).
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