Future is golden for teenage sprint sensation Anas Abu Ganaba

TEENAGE sprinter Anas Abu Ganaba is setting the Australian athletics scene on fire after the  Youth Olympics last week.

BLACKTOWN sprinter Anas Abu Ganaba, 16, is setting the Australian athletics scene on fire after winning gold medals in the 100m and 200m races at the Australian Youth Olympics Festival last week.

He beat runners from China, Brazil and New Zealand to claim gold in the 100m in 10.88 secs on Friday at Sydney Olympic Park.

He followed that with victory in the 200m on Saturday in a time of 21.85 secs, an improvement from the 22.07sec he registered last month.

"It was an amazing feeling, I didn't expect that at all," he said.

"It felt great, it was a real rush. I was really nervous before the races."

Last month Ganaba won a gold medal in the 200m and a silver medal in the 100m sprint races at the Australian All schools Athletics Championships in Hobart.

The Patrician Brothers' College, Blacktown, student was undefeated over 200m in all competitions last year with regional and state honours under his belt.

Anas started competing in athletics in 2011 and coach Robert Bangel said his pupil has yet to reach his full potential.

"I'm surprised that he has got this far without professional training," Bangel said. "A little bit of guidance and he will improve out of sight."

Ganaba left war-torn Sudan at the age of four to follow his dream of becoming a competitive sprinter.

His goal is to compete at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil.