Unheralded runner Eddie Osei-Nketia came from nowhere to run the fastest 100m ever recorded by an Aussie just days ago, but has now missed selection in Australia’s six-man team for the 4x100m at this weekend’s world relays in Botswana.
After a month where Lachie Kennedy and Gout Gout both dominated headlines at recent meets, Nketia quietly went and did what no Aussie has ever done, setting a freakish time of 9.84 seconds during a college meet in the United States.
The 24-year-old, who previously represented New Zealand on the track before switching his allegiances to Australia in December, turned up the heat in the men’s elite 100m at the Hilmor Lodge Stadium during the Mt. SAC Relays meet.
You can watch the run in the video player above
Nketia’s time will not go down in the record books because the race took place with an illegal 2.8 metres per second wind boost.
It is still the fastest all-conditions 100m ever blitzed by an Aussie, surpassing Patrick Johnson’s famous 9.88 second run in 2003.
However in a twist that initially seemed bizarre, Australian Athletics has announced there’s no room for Osei-Nketia in its final 4x100m team for the World Athletics Relays.
Instead Joshua Azzopardi, Rohan Browning, Jai Gordon, Christopher Ius, Lachlan Kennedy and Calab Law have all gained selection in the six-man squad for the event which gets underway at 10:00pm AEST on Saturday.
Australia will take on global powerhouses Jamaica and the United States at the meet.
It’s understood the omission of Osei-Nketia is not down to pure numbers but rather a mixture of availability issues and the desire for continuity in the team.
Given the former Kiwi sprinter is US-college based and not yet embedded in Australia’s relay program, selectors or the athlete himself may have opted to prioritise his college sprinting commitments.
Australian Athletics’ high performance boss Andrew Faichney flagged he is working with the speed king’s US-based coaches to plot out his Australian sprinting debut.
“Whilst the Commonwealth Games are a very, very important competition for us, it’s not as understood by U.S. colleges,” Faichney told Reuters.
“So we’ll still work with Eddie and his coach and the college as to what his availability looks like.
“We’re certainly hoping for the 2027 world championships and 2028 Olympics that he will be a strong member of the Australian team.”
Irrespective of the difficulties in selecting Nketia for Australia, his sudden emergence has certainly thrown weight behind the idea the nation is on the cusp of a golden era for sprinting given the recent success of fellow Aussies Gout Gout and Lachlan Kennedy.
Mitch Dyer posted on X: “Scary times in Aus sprinting”.
Aussie athletics analyst Tim Rosen posted: “Eddie Nketia runs 9.84s to become the fastest Australian All Time All Conditions!!! What an era of sprinting”.
Australian sports journalist Mark Gotlieb posted: “What on earth is going on in Australian sprinting”.
Australian Athletics also posted: “The Aussies are getting it done home and abroad”.
Nketia, meanwhile, has also had an incredible journey to get to where he is now in his career.
The track star has lived in Australia since primary school and completed his transition to represent Australia in December.
“My 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’s possible,” he said last year.
“Not just LA, the Commonwealth Games, world championships and the world relays, any chance we get.”
