There was a time not long ago, say even yesterday, when seeing an Australian man break 10 seconds in the 100 metres was an enthralling anomaly.
After doing it for the third time in his career, and the second time in two days, Lachlan Kennedy is starting to make it a given.
“That’s just the standard we’ve set now. So hopefully next time go a bit quicker than that. And we’ll see where it takes us,” he said after winning the final at the Australian Athletics Championships in Sydney.
As the last thunderous roars of the Sydney Royal Easter Show’s nightly fireworks rang through the cool air at the neighbouring Athletic Centre, the field for the men’s 100m final was poised on the starting blocks.
An appropriately dramatic backdrop for the most anticipated theatrical event of the meet so far, and like any champion sprinter, Kennedy proved he’s as big-time as you can get.
The 22-year-old Queenslander became the first Australian man to run under 10 seconds on home soil in the heats, and did it again when much more was at stake, incredibly running the exact same time of 9.96 seconds to win the final.
More importantly though, it gave him what he craved even more — his first national crown.
“I needed the win, I needed to be national champ, I needed to say I had it,” he said.
“Big relief to be able to finally do it in front of an awesome crowd and against great competitors, my teammates in the relay.”
In reality, it was Kennedy against the clock, as he finished well clear of Joshua Azzopardi and Rohan Browning.
Kennedy’s victory was especially sweet after Browning pipped him on the line at last year’s Nationals.
“It was definitely disappointing. I went in there expecting to win, didn’t run nine (seconds) or win, which are my two goals,” Kennedy said.
“And this year I was able to do both those things. I got beat fair and square last year and was able to get back and beat him this year.
“Come full circle and hopefully I want to be two-time national champ next year, three times, as long as I can.”
Kennedy still found ways to critique his performance, once again eyeing off the increasingly tantalising prospect of breaking Patrick Johnson’s 23-year-old national record of 9.93 seconds.
“I still feel like I haven’t put together the perfect race yet, so I think I’ve definitely got more in the tank,” he said.
“I was gassed a little bit after the semi, but the fact I was able to come out after that and run that time just shows I’ve got so many more things to work on. The sky’s the limit.”
Kennedy is scheduled to run the heats of the 200m tomorrow, in a huge showdown with fellow young sprint sensation Gout Gout.
But he has cast doubt over his participation.
“I can’t give you a 100 per cent yes or no,” Kennedy said.
“I don’t want to promise anything and then not deliver. We’ll see how it goes, just gonna see how the body pulls up.”
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