Lachlan Kennedy becomes Australia’s second-fastest sprinter ever after Gout Gout twice broke 10 seconds

“I might have subconsciously shut off, I was staring at the clock with like 30 metres to go, and I was like, ‘Oh shit, I might actually get this’. But no, I think with the dip it was, it could have been nine, but I’ve got two more races do that.”

If you needed verification beforehand that there was nothing between these two athletes, then this was it.

While only two Australian men – Johnson and Rohan Browning – had run under 10 seconds in any conditions before Gout joined them with his two 9.99-second runs on Thursday, now only Johnson has legally run quicker than Kennedy after his measured run in a heat of the national championships in Perth.

“I was super buzzing for him [Gout]. I mean, he beat me to it [breaking 10] but I’m like, ‘I’m gonna try and do it legal’. But it was insane what he did – it’s so good,” Kennedy said.

“I know I’ll go sub-10 eventually, that’s just a matter of time. The race for the legal nine is so on. Sunday [in the 200m where Gout and Kennedy go head-to-head] is going to be incredible.

“I’m definitely going to be gunning for that too … I plan to do the final.”

A race later and the old man of sprinting – at 27 – Rohan Browning continued his understated progression.

After two years with injury Browning, the Olympic semi-finalist in Tokyo, ran a sharp 10.07s with a tailwind that was just illegal (+2.1 where, +2 is legal).

“I hope I can delay the changing of the guard a little bit longer, but, you know, those guys are right there. Obviously Kennedy was the class guy today,” Browning said.

Being the only other man with Johnson to have run under 10 seconds in any conditions, Browning could relate to Gout’s efforts, if not his level of celebrity.

“I thought, ‘How do I get off my [social media] feed? I just have to turn my phone off’,” he laughed.

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