Lachlan Kennedy has confirmed his place among the world’s fastest men, storming through the rounds of the 60m to claim silver and secure Australia’s first-ever medal in the event on Day One of the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China – a landmark moment for the nation’s rising sprint force.
Having stunned the athletics world in January this year with a 6.43-second performance to break the Australian record and rank inside the top-10 fastest men in history, Kennedy (QLD, Andrew Iselin) entered the championships as world lead but had never having previously run on an indoor track.
Adding to his breakthrough season thus far, the 21-year-old lit up the heats with a commanding win in 6.52, before backing it up with a powerful 6.54 to place second in his semi-final to book his spot amongst the world best.
Rising to the occasion once more, Kennedy powered home in 6.50-seconds to finish second behind Great Britain’s Jeremiah Azu by just one-hundredth of a second (6.49), defeating sprinting great Akani Simbine (RSA).
“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.”
Not only is Kennedy the first Australian to win a medal in the Men’s 60m at the World Athletics Indoor Championships but is now the fastest, eclipsing Matt Shirvington’s 6.52-performance from 1999.
“Heck yeah, this season has been my favourite so far. There’s so much more to do and more to come. 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. It’s well within reach for me to do at the Maurie Plant Meet or Nationals.”
While Joshua Azzopardi (NSW, Rob Marks) was unable to progress to the semi-finals in the 60m, the Olympic sprinter too made his presence known as one of four athletes in his heat to cross the finish line in 6.70.
With a photo finish required to separate the first four place-getters, Azzopardi’s campaign unravelled when beaten by smallest of margins, finishing fourth by one thousandth of a second to miss out on a semi-finals berth.
A week after claiming the Australian 3000m title, Georgia Griffith (VIC, Nic Bideau) booked her spot in the 1500m final in China with a decisive move in the final third of the race. With 500m to go, the Victorian moved from seventh to second, holding her place to cross the line in 4:09.78 for a new indoor best over the distance.
Commonwealth champion Oliver Hoare (NSW, Dathan Ritzenhein) was unlucky not to progress in the 1500m heats, with the top two in each advancing to the final. The two-time Olympian positioned himself amongst the front of the field but was overtaken in the last 180m by USA’s Luke Houser, who surged from fourth to victory to defeat Sweden’s Samuel Pihlstrom who claimed the second qualifying spot ahead of Hoare’s 3:42.29 by just 0.08-seconds.
Cooper Sherman made a spectacular Australian Senior team debut tonight, advancing to the semi-finals of the 400m. Clocking 46.52 in Heat 2, the sprinter progressed as the eighth fastest qualifier before finishing fifth in his Semi-Final in 47.67 as he called time on his World Indoors campaign.
Olympian Camryn Newton-Smith (QLD, Ralph Newton) made history becoming the first Australian multi-eventer since 1993 to compete in the invite-only pentathlon at the World Athletics Indoor Championships but was forced to withdraw before her final event, citing a hamstring pull.
Seeded 13th in the 14-strong field and on track to surpass all expectations, Newton-Smith delivered at her indoor debut with an 8.30-second personal best in the 60m for the fifth fastest time of the night, as well as season’s best performances in the shot put (13.06m) and long jump (5.91m).
Middle distance athletes Sarah Billings (VIC, Nic Bideau) and Abbey Caldwell (VIC, Gavin Burren) started and finished their World Athletics Indoor campaign on Day One, missing tickets to the 800m semi-finals with Billings clocking 2:03.60 and Caldwell 2:05.15, with both Australians finishing in fourth place in their heats to miss the top-three qualification.
Held every two years, the World Athletics Indoor Championships are the pinnacle of short track competition. With a 200m banked track, tighter turns and unique tactical challenges, short track competition can take place indoors or outdoors, with the major championships for the format held indoors.
The World Athletics Indoor Championships continue tomorrow from 2.15pm AEDT, and can be viewed live on SBS Viceland and SBS On Demand.
By Sascha Ryner, Australian Athletics
Posted: 22/3/2025
