Sprinter 'faster than Gout Gout' smashes record with lightning fast time
A 22-year-old sprinter made history with a stunning performance at the Australian Athletics Championships on Friday (April 10).
Despite Gout Gout being the name on everyone’s lips ahead of the event, it was his counterpart Lachlan Kennedy who stunned spectators at Sydney Olympic Park.
Kennedy broke the 10-second barrier in the 100 metres heats, finishing well ahead of his competitors and, in doing so, setting the fastest 100 metres time ever run by an Australian on home soil with a time of 9.96 seconds – just three hundredths of a second off the national record set by Patrick Johnson in Japan in 2003.
Kennedy’s time was within the ‘legal’ wind limit of two metres per second.
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“Honestly, I didn’t really even expect it,” Kennedy said after the race. “I was just super relaxed, super – not cruisey, I was definitely pushing it – but it just felt easy.
“So I think I’ve got a bit more in the tank.
“This is still only my second hundred [race of the season], so I’ve got so much more to give, but we’re off to a cracking start.”
#BREAKING Queensland's Lachlan Kennedy has done the unthinkable, breaking the 10-second barrier in a blistering 100m heat at the Australian Athletics Championships.
— The Courier-Mail (@couriermail) April 10, 2026
Full reaction: https://t.co/EMLaUCIvX9 pic.twitter.com/StWZkDaH8h
Kennedy, who grew up in Brisbane, has already made it clear he believes he can run under 9.9 seconds later this year.
Meanwhile, Gout has previously run a personal best of 9.99 seconds in April 2025, but this is not considered legal by World Athletics due to it being wind-assisted.
Gout’s official personal best is 10.00 seconds, which he ran in February 2026.
Kennedy has also backed himself to run even faster, despite now having run under the 10-second barrier twice in his fledgling career.
The Australian’s previous best was 9.98 seconds, which he set in Kenya in May 2025.
The sprinter added: “Doing it once is good, but doing it twice – I want to make a bit of a pattern of it. I want to make it routine, I want to make it the standard.”
Kennedy now has the semi-finals and possibly the 100m final to focus on tomorrow (April 11) before he takes on Gout on Sunday (April 12), depending on whether both men qualify.
“I think I’ve got so much more to give … but we’re off to a cracking start,” he explained.
“Of all the conditions, today is probably the best objectively, but at the end of the day, I’m here to win that national final.
“I’m here to get my first national championship, so saving the best for tomorrow.”
Top 5 Fastest 100m times by Australian sprinters
9.93 seconds — Patrick Johnson — May 5, 2003
9.96 seconds — Lachlan Kennedy — April 10, 2026
9.98 seconds — Lachlan Kennedy — May 31, 2025
10.00 seconds — Gout Gout — February 21, 2026
10.01 seconds — Rohan Browning — July 31, 2021
Luke Davies