Freshly minted Australian sprinter Eddie Nketia has laid down a marker ahead of the world relay championships with the country\u2019s fastest ever 100m time in all conditions.<\/p>\n
The 24-year-old, born in New Zealand where his dad Gus was a leading sprinter and raised in Canberra, switched allegiances to the green and gold late last year.<\/p>\n
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Eddie Nketia runs Australia\u2019s fastest ever 100m in all conditions<\/p>\n
Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today Arrow<\/a><\/p>\n Nketia is now on the brink of an international debut after being named in Australia\u2019s 4x100m squad for next month\u2019s world relay championships and warming up for the event with a stunning \u2014 albeit illegal \u2014 time at a US college meet.<\/p>\n He ran 9.84 (+2.8m\/s) to finish second.<\/p>\n \u201cThank you god,\u201d Nketia wrote.<\/p>\n \u201cJob\u2019s not done.\u201d<\/p>\n Nketia went on to anchor the University of Southern California\u2019s 4x100m relay team to a bronze medal.<\/p>\n But it was the solo run \u2014 faster than Patrick Johnson\u2019s all-conditions best of 9.88 \u2014 that caught the eye.<\/p>\n \u201cScary times in Aus sprinting,\u201d athletics commentator Mitch Dyer wrote.<\/p>\n Johnson still holds the official record with his famous 9.93 yet to be toppled by the current crop headlined by Lachlan Kennedy (9.96), Gout Gout (10.00) or Rohan Browning (10.01).<\/p>\n Nketia\u2019s personal best is 10.08 from 2022 while he previously went sub-10 with a 9.96 (+2.4m\/s) last year.<\/p>\n Kennedy and Gout dominated headlines across the domestic season in recent weeks.<\/p>\n Kennedy won the national 100m title<\/a> when he became the first Australian to legally break the 10-second barrier on home soil.<\/p>\n Gout achieved a similar feat in the 200m, claiming the title as the first Aussie to officially break the 20-second barrier.<\/p>\n Gout\u2019s 19.67 blitzed Jamaican legend Usain Bolt\u2019s under-20 time of 19.93<\/a> set in 2004 and claimed the world record in the age group.<\/p>\n Only American sprinter Erriyon Knighton has gone faster at the same age, but his 19.49 run in 2022 was not ratified because he failed to meet anti-doping testing requirements.<\/p>\n Gout hit the track again this week at the Australian junior championships without finding a sub-10 time in the 100m<\/a>.<\/p>\n He will skip the world relay championships but Kennedy and Nketia have been named to the 4x100m squad alongside Browning, Connor Bond, Jacob Despark, Jai Gordon, Chris Ius and Calab Law.<\/p>\n Nketia paused his athletics career to have a crack at American football before recommitting to the track with USC and Australia.<\/p>\n \u201cMy goal with Australia is to break both the 100m and 200m record and also help the relay team to not just make the finals, (but) also to earn a medal on the big stage, and with the team I believe it\u2019s possible,\u201d he said last year.<\/p>\n \u201cNot just LA, the Commonwealth Games, world championships and the world relays, any chance we get.\u201d<\/p>\n Nketia\u2019s younger brother Augustine Jr represented Australia at last year\u2019s world relay championships.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Gout Gout makes mockery of U20 final with wild act during race<\/p>\n 3 min read<\/p>\n