Australian sprinter Eddie Nketia has clocked a staggering 100m time of 9.74 seconds at a college meet in the US – but it won’t count for record purposes because of a howling tailwind.
Nketia, who recently swapped his allegiance from New Zealand to Australia, did the 100m/200m double for the University of Southern California at the Big Ten Track and Field Championships in Nebraska on Sunday.
It was the second time in as many months that he had run faster than Patrick Johnson’s longstanding Australian 100m record of 9.93s. But on both occasions the tailwind was above the legal mark of two metres per second.
“It’s crazy man, to run 9.74 even with the wind,” Nketia said. “It shows I’m getting better and can see the progress and the season isn’t over yet.
“I’m really hoping this season on the back of that to get a legal PB and show I can compete. The all-conditions record is nice, but I really want that actual record.
“I think the future is bright. When I get out of college I’m looking forward to competing everywhere, including hopefully Europe this year.”
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Nketia also won the 200m in 20.03, at which time the tailwind was a staggering 7.5m/s.
The 25-year-old could form part of what would be a formidable Australian 4x100m relay team including the likes of Gout Gout, Lachlan Kennedy and Rohan Browning at next year’s world championships in Beijing and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Last month, the American coach charged with refining Nketia’s raw power forecast the muscular sprinter could one day challenge the world’s best.
“We’ve talked about this within our staff … Eddie could be one of the best who’ve ever done it as a whole,” Brenton Emanuel said.
“I can’t say he’ll be the best in the world because obviously Usain Bolt was an anomaly, but I definitely think Eddie has a long career in track and field. We’ve made some changes to his diet and his physique and stuff like that, and I think it’s paying off.”