Latest news with #WorldAthletics
News.com.au
20 minutes ago
- General
- News.com.au
Australian sprinter Lachlan Kennedy breaks 10-sec barrier in Men's 100m
Australian sprinter Lachlan Kennedy has sensationally broken the elusive 10-second barrier in the Men's 100m at the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi, Kenya. Kennedy stormed to victory in 9.98-seconds (-0.7), becoming the first to achieve the feat since Patrick Johnson's 9.93 Australian record in 2003 and reaching a milestone long dominated by sprinters from North America and the Caribbean. Despite a false start and subsequent delay, Kennedy stood tall against a stacked international field at the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meet, after movement from a competitor led to a green card and a race restart. The 21-year-old refocused and delivered a scorching performance, stopping the clock just under the magic mark. 'I was there to win today and bring it home, and I am super stoked to get the win and the time,' Kennedy said. 'It's so good. I can finally say I run 9! I haven't wanted to rush it or put the pressure on myself, I take every race as it comes and I knew it would come eventually. 'I've got a good coach (Andrew Iselin), good training partners – shout out to Calab Law – and a good S & C and team around me. It's been about trusting the process.' The only athlete in the field to dip below the world-class barrier in the race, Kennedy defeated Olympic medallist Bayanda Walaza (RSA, 10.03) and hometown favourite Ferdinand Omanyala (KEN, 10.07) to cement his growing reputation as one of the fastest men on the planet. 'The crowd was nuts out there. I think there was early movement from someone in the first part of the race, but it actually did me good. It settled the nerves so I was pretty confident out there today,' Kennedy said. 'I didn't think a 9 was realistic until a couple of years ago. When I was still playing rugby but starting to train and realising I had some speed, I made it the goal. 'I'm getting better with every race. It's an advantage to have a long season at home. I'm not getting tired, so I'm looking forward to seeing what I can achieve later in the year as we get closer to the World Championships.' Kennedy will next run at the prestigious Ostrava Golden Spike meet in the Czech Republic on June 24 where he'll take on Gout Gout in the 200m, before travelling to the USA for the 100m at the Prefontaine Classic on July 5.
Indian Express
an hour ago
- Sport
- Indian Express
Bittersweet debut: Sachin Yadav gives Arshad Nadeem tough fight to win silver but misses direct World Championships qualification
After the first four throws, it looked like Sachin Yadav would not finish on the podium in his first-ever international tournament. The young javelin thrower failed to hit the 80m mark and was out of the podium spots, having managed a best throw of just 79.65m; his other throws read 74.05m, 72.07m, 77.37m). Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem, meanwhile, led with 85.57m. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, he turned things around. In his fifth attempt, Yadav came up with an 83.08m throw, which helped him to jump to the second spot. And then, in his final attempt, he nailed a new personal best throw of 85.16m to win a silver medal on his international debut. Nadeem, meanwhile, claimed the gold medal with an 86.40m throw in his final attempt. 'My body was a little tight in the first three throws. In between, I asked fellow thrower Yash Vir to help relax my muscles. That is when the body started responding, and I threw beyond 80m in my fifth attempt,' Yadav said. 'I am happy with the personal best, but I am not satisfied with this performance. I missed out on World Championships qualification, which I will try to achieve in the upcoming tournaments,' he added. Yadav's coach, Naval Singh, is not happy with the performance and believes that the thrower can be consistent towards the 85m mark. 'Mujhe bilkul bhi khushi nahi hai uske performance ki (I am not happy with his performance). Since the day we arrived in Korea, he was throwing much better in the practice throws. His body was a little stiff during the competition. During the throws, I talked to him and reminded him that he has practised well to achieve those distances,' Naval told The Indian Express over a phone call from Korea. 'He can go beyond the 85m mark consistently, but the weather and conditions were a little different for him as this is his first international trip,' Naval added further. When asked if Yadav was under pressure of facing Olympic champion Nadeem, Naval said, 'Both the throwers were hovering around the 85m mark, and he (Arshad) won it in the last throw. If Sachin had started well, I am sure he would have gone beyond Arshad's mark by the last throw.' Yadav had set the target of qualification for the World Championships through this tournament, but he missed the qualification mark set by World Athletics by 34 cm. 'I am returning with a medal and a new personal best. I will go back and continue my training. I injured my ankle earlier this year, and then a shoulder injury also came along. It was one of the reasons I couldn't train very well,' Yadav said. 'I haven't set any timeline to achieve the world championships qualification, I just want to throw my best in the next competition I play.' After returning from Korea, the thrower will travel to Finland to compete in three competitions, trying to achieve the direct qualification. 'Since we have set the target of qualifying for the Worlds, we will achieve it. We have got permission from the Athletics' Federation of India to participate in these events,' Naval Singh confirmed. In the recent months, Yadav has emerged as India's number two in the javelin throw behind World champion Neeraj Chopra. The 25-year-old from Uttar Pradesh started the 2025 season with a personal best of 84.39m at the National Games in Dehradun. However, he sustained an ankle injury in his blocking leg during the same event and performed poorly at the India Open Throws. He returned with 83.86m at the Federation Cup in Kochi before travelling to Korea.
Indian Express
an hour ago
- Sport
- Indian Express
‘Outstanding' Animesh Kujur dazzles with 200m national record at Asian Athletics Championships
Breaking records is becoming habitual for Animesh Kujur. On Saturday at the Asian Athletics Championships, the 21-year-old lowered the national record in the 200 metres for the second time in just over a month. At the Federation Cup in Kochi, in April, he clocked 20.40 seconds to break Amlan Borgohain's mark of 20.52. In Gumi, South Korea, the stakes were high when Animesh lined up in a field that included Japan's Towa Uzawa, the defending champion. At the Fed Cup, he was expected to win, but performance in Gumi would tell if he was cut out for the big stage. Blazing start isn't the lanky sprinter's strength but he tamed the bend and finished strongly to become India's first medal winner in the 200 metres at the Asian Championships in a decade. Animesh didn't allow a false start by China's Shi Junao to distract him. A bronze clinched with a time of 20.32 seconds and a new national record. Defending champion Uzawa won the gold (20.12S) and Saudi Arabia's Abdulaziz Abdul Atafi saw off a later surge from Animesh to take the silver (20.31S). 'I knew there was a 20.05 sprinter and a 20.14 second sprinter, so I would get a good push. Every time before a race I start thinking that my start won't be good. But this time I kept the negativity aside. When the curve ended I felt like I was ahead,' Animesh said. However, when he stood on the podium, Animesh was a bit dejected. Only the national anthem of the winner's country is played. 'Standing on the podium and hearing the Indian national anthem play is a different feeling. This medal is a motivation as it was my first at an international level for me,' Animesh said. Adille Sumariwalla, a vice president of World Athletics and former 100 metre national champion rated Animesh as 'amongst the best sprinters he has seen in India. 'I think he is an outstanding athlete. If he can improve his start a little more he will be impossible to beat,' Sumariwalla said. After winning gold at the Federation Cup, Animesh had set his target. 'I want to become the first athlete (from India) to run below 20 seconds,' Animesh had said. Martin Owens, head coach of the Odisha-Reliance Foundation High Performance Centre, said he was 'stressed' till Animesh won the medal. Owens didn't travel to Gumi, so caught the action on YouTube. The coach was also worried because Animesh was under the weather. 'He has had a fever for two days, had a bit of congestion, could not breathe properly, he was a bit snorty. He was in bed for two days and only got up to race. He was probably worse yesterday (during the heats) than today,' Owens said. Owens coaches Animesh at the high performance centre in Bhubaneswar. He believes there is a sureshot way for Animesh to get faster: Compete regularly with faster sprinters. 'We knew he had to go abroad to race. And this (Asian Championships) gave us the first opportunity to race against people who are very fast. This is an outstanding achievement for someone who ran his first major international championships. Remember, he hasn't done age-group championships. He's taken two-tenths off the national record in the last month, which is a big step forward,' Owens said. Animesh, however, is still work-in-progress, the coach said. He needs to start better, improve his speed when on the bend and then can take full advantage of his strong finish. Though Animesh has been putting in the hours to gain a faster start, Owens said he didn't want it to come at the expense of his strengths. 'We worked on his start but we didn't want to sacrifice his top-end speed and his speed-endurance. You can't neglect anything. But he is very strong in that part (home straight) of the race, we don't want to ruin that by fixing something else. We want a strong race all around.' Next stop for Animesh is a competition in Taiwan before stopovers for races in Geneva, Athens and Monte Carlo. Owens predicts that Animesh will break the national record again this season. 'I think he will break the record again this summer. Given the right race and the right conditions he can blow that (record) out of the water. I am hopeful of some very fast times this season.'
CBC
2 hours ago
- General
- CBC
Rogers caps off Canadian hammer throw sweep with victory at Continental Tour stop in Nairobi
Camryn Rogers of Richmond, B.C.'s winning throw of 77.93 was enough to capture Saturday's hammer throw title at the World Athletics Continental Tour stop in Nairobi, Kenya.
CBC
3 hours ago
- General
- CBC
Australian Kennedy runs his 1st sub-10 second 100-metre time in Continental Tour victory
Lachlan Kennedy of Australia sprinted to a winning time of 9.98 to claim the men's 100-metre World Athletics Continental Tour stop in Nairobi, Kenya.
