The dramatic rise of Australian sprinting shows no sign of slowing down after powerhouse runner Eddie Osei-Nketia ran a staggering time of 9.84 seconds for the 100m in a college athletics race in the USA.
With a illegal tailwind of +2.8m/s, the time didnโt officially count, but it was more than enough for Osei-Nketia to set a new Australian all-conditions record for the 100m, breaking the wind-assisted 9.88s run by Patrick Johnson in Perth in 2003. Johnson went on to set the national record of 9.93s a few months later.
Coming after record-breaking runs by Lachlan Kennedy and Gout Gout in the last fortnight, Osei-Nketiaโs stunning time also highlights Australia as a fast-developing contender for 4 x 100m relay medals on the world stage.
Osei-Nketia, 24, only recently joined the ranks of Australian athletics after switching allegiances from New Zealand in December last year.
The powerhouse sprinter is the national 100m and 200m record holder in New Zealand.
Osei-Nketia, the son of former Ghana and New Zealand sprinter Gus, was born in New Zealand but spent eight years in Canberra as a teenager. He emerged as a talented sprinter and rugby player in the ACT, but returned to New Zealand and went on to break his fatherโs 100m record in 10.08 and the 200m in 20.24s.
But after controversially omission from the New Zealand teams for the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, Osei-Nketia had a falling out with NZ Athletics. In 2023, he signed to play wide receiver for the University of Hawaii football team, before subsequently moving to the University of Southern California on a track scholarship.
In late 2025, Osei-Nketia successfully applied to switch allegiances to Australia, along with his younger brother Augustine, a talented 400m runner. Osei-Nketia was immediately added to the Australian menโs relay squad and ran with them in a meet in Brisbane in January.
โMy goal with Australia is to break both the 100m and 200m record and also help the relay team to not just make the finals – also to earn a medal in the big stage, and with the team, I believe itโs possible,โ Osei-Nketia said at the time. โNot just LA, the Commonwealth Games, world championships, and the world relay, any chance we get.โ
The run in the Mt Sac Relays in California was Osei-Nketiaโs first 100m of the year. If he transfers the form into a legal sub-10s 100m time in the coming weeks – as Johnson did – Osei-Nketia can potentially win selection in one of three individual 100m spots for the Commonwealth Games.
He didnโt compete in the Australian National Titles, which are the primary selection event, but some athletes are given exemptions based on special circumstances.
Gout wonโt be running at the Commonwealth Games, but with Osei-Nketia, Kennedy, and Rohan Browning in the mix, the men could be a chance for a first medal in 24 years. An Aussie 4 x 100m relay team of Kennedy, Josh Azzopardi, Chris Ius, and Jacob Despard has the worldโs fastest time this year, with a 38.34s in South Australia last month. The global athletics season is yet to get fully underway.
Iain Payten is a senior sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.
