'I think it's gone': Lachlan Kennedy's coach says young gun could shatter Australian 100m record this weekend

Patrick Johnson's long-standing Australian 100-metre record is in high danger of being shattered by Brisbane sprint powerhouse Lachlan Kennedy as soon as this weekend.

That's the view of Kennedy's coach as the sub-10 flyer readies himself for a crack at Johnson's 22-year-old record at the national athletics championships, which got under way at Sydney Olympic Park Athletic Centre on Thursday.

Kennedy will get his first crack at the 9.93 seconds set by Johnson in Japan in May 2003 when he lines up in the heats of the 100m just after 7pm on Friday.

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According to the Bureau of Meteorology, the temperature will be a balmy 29 degrees at Sydney Olympic Park at that time — an ideal temperature for the need for speed.

And if the weather gods pair that with a tailwind of +1.5-2.00 metres per second, Kennedy will be in sprint nirvana.

The 22-year-old's personal best is the 9.98 seconds he clocked in Kenya in May last year.

He and Johnson are the only Australians who've cracked the iconic 10-second barrier in legal wind conditions.

"Right now I think Lachie can go into the 9.8s, and I think he can go close to breaking 20 [seconds] for 200m," Iselin told Wide World of Sports.

"I don't like to put an exact ceiling on things because then we limit ourselves and it can lead to a bit of overthinking, I guess.

"I would not be surprised at all if he breaks that sort of 9.9 this weekend."

Asked if he was suggesting Johnson's record was under serious threat, Iselin replied: "To be honest, I think it's gone — if things go the right way."

What makes Iselin so confident Kennedy can blow Johnson's record away this weekend?

Asked that question, he pointed to his protege's 100m run at the Maurie Plant Meet in Melbourne a fortnight ago, when he ripped a 10.03 on a mild night and with only a small gust of wind behind him.

"The conditions were probably just about as bad as they could be in Melbourne, and he maxed that time out," Iselin said.

Kennedy also had a hiccup in that 100m. He was too aggressive out of the blocks and, as Iselin puts it, he had a "breaking step" — a movement where his foot landed in front of his body. He was actually worried about "face planting", Iselin says.

If the Queenslander had nailed his start he may well have cracked the 10-second barrier in that run, despite the conditions and despite the fact it was his first 100m since July last year, having been sidelined with a stress fracture in his back.

Kennedy crushed the field in the 100m at the Maurie Plant Meet, which included Olympic semi-finalist and reigning national champion Rohan Browning.

Just under two hours later — after suffering major cramps that had Iselin urging him to call it a night — he backed up for the 200m and for the second year running at the bumper Melbourne meet defeated teen sensation Gout Gout.

Gout isn't running in the 100m at the national championships in Sydney, but he and Kennedy will square off again in the 200m final on Sunday afternoon, barring a calamity.

Iselin senses Australia, and the world, are gradually beginning to realise just how brilliant a talent Kennedy is, and that Australia has two, not just one, world-class male sprinters.

"It seems to slowly be happening, and look, it has been happening for a while now, I think," Iselin said.

"He didn't run in Tokyo last year [at the world championships] and the attention on him sort of went away a little bit."

Kennedy will race in the heats of the 100m just after 7pm on Friday and, barring a disaster, will line up in the 100m final at 8.37pm on Saturday.