Lachlan Kennedy (sprinter)

Lachlan Kennedy
Personal information
NationalityAustralian
Born (2003-11-04) 4 November 2003
Sport
SportTrack and Field
Event
Sprinting
Achievements and titles
Personal bests60 m: 6.43 (2025) AR
100 m: 9.85 (2026) AR
200 m: 20.26 (2025)
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Australia
World Indoor Championships
Silver medal – second place2025 Nanjing60 metres
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place2026 Glasgow4×100m relay
Silver medal – second place2026 Glasgow100 m
Pacific Games
Silver medal – second place2023 Honiara100 metres

Lachlan Kennedy (born 4 November 2003) is an Australian sprinter. He is the Oceanian record holder for the 60 metres and 100 metres. He won the 60 metres silver medal at the 2025 World Indoor Championships and the silver medal over 100 metres at the 2026 Commonwealth Games. He was the first Australian man to break the 10-second barrier on Australian soil.[1]

Early life

Kennedy grew up in Brisbane where he attended St Joseph's College, Gregory Terrace throughout his upbringing.[2] He played for Brisbane junior rugby union representative sides and played junior international rugby union for Australia before switching his focus to athletics at the age of 17.[3][4] As of early 2026, he trains at Griffith University's High Performance Hub on the Gold Coast and is a member of the Griffith Sports College program.[5]

Career

Kennedy was a member of the Australian U20 4 x 100 metres relay team which broke the 12-year-old Australian U20 4 × 100 m relay record in 2022 in a time of 39.30 seconds. He represented Australia at the 2022 World Athletics U20 Championships in Cali, Colombia.[3] In November 2023, he won the silver medal over 100 metres at the 2023 Pacific Games in Honiara behind compatriot Calab Law.[6][7]

Kennedy was a member of Australia's 4 × 100 m team that set a new Oceania record of 38.12 seconds at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games.[8]

2025

On 25 January 2025, in Canberra, he equalled the Australian record for 60 metres running a time of 6.52 seconds, and then, later in the day, ran 6.43 seconds (+1.6) to set new senior Australian and Oceania records, moving to equal tenth on the world all-time list.[9][10] On 26 January 2025, Kennedy set a new 100m PB with 10.17 s running into a -1.0 m/s wind.[11] At the 2025 Australian short-track championships, in Sydney in February, Kennedy won the 60 metres in a time of 6.51 seconds.[12] On 1 March 2025, he ran 10.03 seconds (+1.1) to win the Perth Classic 100m, moving to equal third on the Australian all-time list alongside Matt Shirvington.[13]

Kennedy represented Australia in the 60 metres at the 2025 World Athletics Indoor Championships held on 21 March in Nanjing, China. He qualified for the semi-finals with a run of 6.52 seconds.[14][15] In the final, he ran 6.50 seconds to win the silver medal, one hundredth of a second behind the winner, Jeremiah Azu of Great Britain.[16][17]

Kennedy won the 200 metres race in a personal best 20.26 seconds at the Maurie Plant Meet in Melbourne on 29 March 2025, ahead of compatriot Gout Gout.[18] Kennedy lowered his personal best to 10.00 seconds for the 100 metres during the heats of the Australian Athletics Championships in Perth on 11 April 2025.[19] He finished runner-up in the final in a time of 10.01 seconds, five thousandths of a second behind winner Rohan Browning, who was also credited with 10.01.[20] In April, Kennedy finished fifth in the 100 metres in 10.18 seconds at the 2025 Xiamen Diamond League event in China.[21] He competed for Australia at the 2025 World Athletics Relays in China, helping the Australian men's 4 × 100 m team qualify for the 2025 World Championships.[22] He ran a new personal best of 9.98 seconds to win the 100 metres at the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi, Kenya, on 31 May 2025.[23]

2026

Having had the second half of 2025 ruled out by injury, Kennedy returned to competitive action with a win over 200 metres in February 2026 at the Hobart Track Classic, running a meet record 20.43 seconds (+0.6).[24] Kennedy also set a meet record winning the 100 m in 10.03 seconds (+0.3) at the Maurie Plant Meet in Melbourne on 28 March 2026, surpassing the previous record set by Asafa Powell in 2008.[25] Kennedy returned later to win the 200 metres at the meeting in 20.38 (-0.7) ahead of Gout Gout despite rainy conditions.[26][27] On 10 April, competing in the 100 metres heats of the 2026 Australian Championships in Sydney, Kennedy improved his personal best with a legal-wind run of 9.96 (+0.2) to become the first Australian sprinter to break the 10-second barrier on home soil. He ran 9.96 (+0.5) again to win the final the following day.[28][29]

Representing Australia at the 2026 World Athletics Relays in Botswana in May, he ran alongside Joshua Azzopardi, Christopher Ius and Rohan Browning to equal the 4 × 100 m Oceania record of 37.87 seconds on the opening day, before placing fourth overall in 38.00 in the final.[30][31][32] Kennedy placed fifth in 10.01 seconds (+0.6) over 100 metres at the 2026 Shanghai Diamond League.[33]

Competing at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, on 28 July, Kennedy ran his 100 metres semi-final in 9.94 seconds, before returning that evening to lower the Oceanian area record in the men's 100 metres final to 9.85 seconds, placing second to achieve the silver medal. His time beat the previous record of 9.93 seconds set by Patrick Johnson in 2003. In doing so, Kennedy became the first Australian man to medal at a Commonwealth Games since Michael Cleary in 1962.[34][35] He was also finalist in the 200 metres at the 200 metres at the Games placing sixth overall.[36] Later at the games, he won the gold medal in the men's 4 × 100 m relay.[37]

Personal life

In 2018, Kennedy was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. He commenced tertiary studies in Engineering and Design at the University of Queensland.[3][38]

As of 2026, Kennedy is studying a Bachelor of Engineering and Bachelor of Business at Griffith University. In the same year, he was awarded a $40,000 Australian Olympic Committee and Griffith University Sports Scholarship, which supports elite athletes balancing high‑performance sport with tertiary studies and provides automatic entry into Griffith Sports College.[39]

References

  1. ↑ "Lachlan Kennedy". World Athletics. 25 January 2025.
  2. ↑ "Aussie sprinter Lachlan Kennedy claims historic silver medal at world indoor championships". The Guardian. 22 March 2025. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 "Lachlan Kennedy". Athletics.com.au. Retrieved 25 January 2025.
  4. ↑ Dawson, Andrew (5 May 2022). "World junior championships, Oceania championships: 60 Qld athletes selected in national teams". Courier Mail. Retrieved 25 January 2025.
  5. ↑ "Elite training facility powering Australia's Olympic and Paralympic success". Griffith University. 23 April 2026. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
  6. ↑ Mathieson, Andrew (29 November 2023). "Calab lays down the Law, claims gold in Pacific Games sprint". nit.com. Retrieved 25 January 2025.
  7. ↑ "Pacific Games 2023: Australia celebrate double 100m wins in athletics". Olympics.com. 28 November 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2025.
  8. ↑ Mathieson, Andrew (9 August 2024). "Hamstrung Law goes out in a puff at Paris Olympics". nit.com. Retrieved 25 January 2025.
  9. ↑ Weekly, Athletics [@AthleticsWeekly] (25 January 2025). "6.43 ‼️ Australia's Lachlan Kennedy has just smashed the national 60m record with 6.43 in Canberra 🇦🇺 That matches Noah Lyles' best over 60m and Kennedy is now joint-10th on the all-time list ⚡️" (Tweet). Retrieved 25 January 2025 – via X (formerly Twitter).
  10. ↑ Australia, Athletics [@AthsAus] (25 January 2025). "This is not a drill 🚨🚨 They say that lightning doesn't strike twice but Lachlan Kennedy has done exactly that in Canberra, setting his second Australian record for the day with a blazing 6.43 (+1.6) - the equal 10th fastest time in history. Joshua Azzopardi (6.52) and Jacob Despard (6.55) also earn World Indoor Championships qualifiers! #AthleticsNation" (Tweet). Retrieved 25 January 2025 – via X (formerly Twitter).
  11. ↑ https://capitalathleticsresults.com.au/Results/Season2024_25/Championships/U20_Open_Champs/Web/
  12. ↑ Gates, Zachary. "Aussie sprinting young gun Torrie Lewis is starring indoors in Europe. A respected voice has now made an ominous call". Retrieved 12 February 2025.
  13. ↑ "KENNEDY INCHES CLOSER TO SUB-10 PERFORMANCE AS ADCOCK SEIZES HIS MOMENT AT PERTH TRACK CLASSIC". Athetics.com.au. 1 March 2025. Retrieved 2 March 2025.
  14. ↑ "WORLD CHAMPIONS AND EMERGING SPRINTERS NAMED ON AUSTRALIAN TEAM FOR WORLD ATHLETICS INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS". Athletics.com.au. 12 March 2025. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
  15. ↑ "Whelpton qualifies for world indoor athletics championships 60m semifinal". 1News. 21 March 2025. Retrieved 21 March 2025.
  16. ↑ "Azu storms to 60m title in Nanjing". World Athletics. 21 March 2025. Retrieved 21 March 2025.
  17. ↑ "Australia's Lachlan Kennedy wins historic silver at World Athletics Indoor Championships". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
  18. ↑ Adams, Tim (29 March 2025). "Lachlan Kennedy beats Gout Gout in epic 200m". Athletics Weekly. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
  19. ↑ "KENNEDY FIRES TO 10.00 AS SPRINT SURGE CONTINUES IN PERTH". Athletics.com.au. 11 April 2025. Retrieved 11 April 2025.
  20. ↑ Snape, Jack (12 April 2025). "Torrie Lewis and Rohan Browning edge out rising stars in dramatic 100m finals". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 April 2025.
  21. ↑ "Results - Xiamen Diamond League 2025". Watch Athletics. 26 April 2025. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  22. ↑ "Mixed 4x400m silver caps successful world relay championships for Australia". The Guardian. 12 May 2025. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  23. ↑ "Nene smashes 44-second barrier in Nairobi". World Athletics. 31 May 2025. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  24. ↑ "YOUNG GUNS FIRE AS HOBART TRACK CLASSIC COMES ALIGHT AFTER TEN YEARS AWAY". World Athletics. 28 February 2026. Retrieved 28 February 2026.
  25. ↑ Gates, Zachary (28 March 2026). "Lachie Kennedy beats Rohan Browning, shatters record in stunning 100m win at Maurie Plant Meet". Nine.com. Retrieved 28 March 2026.
  26. ↑ "Gout Gout denied by Aussie rival Lachie Kennedy again in slippery 200m epic at Maurie Plant Meet". 7news. 28 March 2026. Retrieved 28 March 2026.
  27. ↑ "LIGHTNING STRIKES TWICE AS KENNEDY SHINES AT MAURIE PLANT MEET – MELBOURNE". Athletics Australia. 28 March 2026. Retrieved 28 March 2026.
  28. ↑ Snape, Jack (10 April 2026). "Lachlan Kennedy becomes first Australian to run 100m in under 10 seconds on home soil". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 April 2026.
  29. ↑ "SUB-10 AGAIN IN KENNEDY'S IN CROWNING MOMENT AT AUSTRALIAN ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS". Athletics.com.au. 11 April 2026. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  30. ↑ "Jamaica set mixed 4x100m world record of 39.99 in Gaborone". World Athletics. 2 May 2026. Retrieved 2 May 2026.
  31. ↑ "World Athletics Relays". World Athletics. 2 May 2026. Retrieved 2 May 2026.
  32. ↑ "BRONZED AUSSIES AND HUGE QUALIFYING WINS TO FINISH THE WORLD RELAYS FOR AUSTRALIA". Australian Athletics. Retrieved 3 May 2026.
  33. ↑ "CALDWELL BREAKTHROUGH LIGHTS UP SHANGHAI DIAMOND LEAGUE OPENER". Australian Athletics. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  34. ↑ "Commonwealth Games 2026: Cameroon's Emmanuel Eseme storms to 100m men's gold in Games Record time". 28 July 2026. Retrieved 28 July 2026.
  35. ↑ Gates, Zachary. "Patrick Johnson's message to Kennedy after 100m record shattered". Nine.com.au. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
  36. ↑ "XXIII Commonwealth Games". World Athletics. 31 July 2026. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
  37. ↑ "XXIII Commonwealth Games". World Athletics. 1 August 2026. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
  38. ↑ "UQ student-athletes set to shine at the Paris Olympics and Paralympics". UQ Sport. 23 September 2024. Retrieved 25 January 2025.
  39. ↑ "Aspiring Olympians awarded first-of-its-kind AOC Griffith Sports Scholarships". Griffith News. 24 March 2026. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
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