Aussie sprinter Lachlan Kennedy silences naysayers with medal-winning run at world indoor championships
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Australian sprinter Lachlan Kennedy won a silver medal at the world athletics indoor championships in China on Saturday morning (AEDT) in a run that returned serve to thousands of naysayers.
The 21-year-old Brisbane product was beaten to gold in the 60 metres by just 0.01 of a second in Nanjing, with Great Britain's Jeremiah Azu winning in 6.49 seconds and Kennedy snaring silver in 6.50.
Kennedy became the first Australian man to win a global medal in an event 100 metres or shorter since Hector Hogan claimed bronze in the 100m at the Melbourne 1956 Olympics.
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South Africa's Akani Simbine, who finished fourth in the 100m at both Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024, secured bronze in 6.54.
Kennedy produced a series of rapid 60m times across January and February, but the fact the times were run outdoors and with tailwinds triggered a barrage of hostility on social media.
Assisted by a tailwind of +1.6 metres per second in Canberra in January, Kennedy laid down a time of 6.43.
That time remains the best in the world this year.
Lachlan Kennedy celebrates clinching silver in the 60 metres at the world athletics indoor championships in China. Getty
But as Kennedy was blazing through 60m races with the help of tailwinds, sprinters in the northern hemisphere were competing indoors and therefore with no wind assistance.
The second-fastest and third-fastest men in the world this year, Americans JC Stevenson and Jordan Anthony, clocked 6.46 and 6.47 indoors in Virginia Beach last week.
Until 2023, outdoor and indoor times were kept separate, but World Athletics abandoned the split in a host of events, including the 60m and 100m.
Among Kennedy's loudest critics is a guy called Erin Brown — an outspoken American sprinter who competes domestically.
"This is why we've got to stop promoting BS [bullshit], and we know it's BS, and we just still allow it to be portrayed and pushed and promoted in this sport," Brown said in a TikTok video.
"So this random nobody in the middle of Australia, last name Kennedy, ran 6.43 [in the] 60m ... He clearly didn't run a 6.4, because I've been in 60m races where f---ers have run 6.4. That's a different type of shift that they do.
"... And not only that: when you run a 6.4 against random white f---ers in Australia, there will be a big-arse gap."
Lachlan Kennedy contests the heats at the world indoor championships. Getty
But the run produced by Kennedy at the world indoor championships only boosted the credentials of the rising star.
Kennedy, who was a talented rugby winger before switching to athletics, draped the Australian flag over his shoulders and wore a beaming smile after picking up silver.
"I know I can do so much more; this is only the beginning. I'm a bit upset I didn't win, but I definitely got the next best thing," Kennedy said.
"Racing three events, with eight hours in between them, was weird for me, but in the heat I stumbled and almost fell over after crossing the finish line. When I got to the semis, I was hesitant and tensed up a bit, and then I thought, 'If I fall over in the final, I fall over', and I just went for it."
Kennedy pictured during the heats in China. Getty
Kennedy is among a host of sprinters vying to become the first Australian since Patrick Johnson, and only the second Australian ever, to break the 10-second barrier in the 100m.
The Queenslander has a 100m personal best of 10.03, recorded in Perth this month.
"I definitely want to go sub-10 in the 100m. That's my goal for this season, and then I want to break the Australian record," Kennedy said.
"It's well within reach for me to do at the Maurie Plant Meet or nationals."
