Edward Nketia, 17, wins men’s national 100m title

The teenage son of New Zealand’s fastest man who is destined for a rugby career rained on Australia’s sprint parade on Saturday night.

Edward Nketia after winning the 100m national title on Saturday night. Picture: Getty Images

The teenage son of New Zealand’s fastest man who is destined for a rugby career rained on Australia’s sprint parade on Saturday night.

Edward Nketia produced a personal best in the semi-final and then backed it up two hours later to stun Australia’s new batch of rising stars, claiming the 100m national title in an impressive 10.22sec.

The 17-year-old’s breakthrough performance certainly popped the hype bubble which had surrounded Rohan Browning coming into the championships after his stunning 10.08sec performance last month.

The third-fastest man in Australian history had to settle for second place (10.28sec) with Tasmania’s Jack Hale third (10.34sec) and Trae Williams fourth (10.35sec).

Nketia, whose father Gus owns the New Zealand 100m record of 10.11sec, spent eight years at school in Canberra before relocating across the Tasman this year to attend Scots College in Wellington.

Edward Nketia after winning the 100m national title on Saturday night. Picture: Getty Images

“My dad thought I was capable of this but I didn’t,” Nketia, who ran 10.19sec in the semi-final, said. “My expectation was to get a personal best and not think about anything else.”

Given his imposing physical build there is already interest in Nketia making the change to rugby sevens for next year’s Tokyo Olympics.

“It’s just too early at the moment, I just want to keep my options open,” Nketia said.

Long-jumper Naa Anang won the women’s 100m title and immediately played down her sprinting prospects.

Anang, 24, jumped a world championships qualifier in the long jump earlier in the season and was doing the 100m for a bit of fun as part of her training.

“I have to clear this out I’m still a long jumper, I’m not a sprinter,” she said.

“I’m a long-jumper who runs, it’s part of my training and I just wanted to see if all the training translated to a 100-metre race.

“Honestly I’m not really looking to be a 100 runner, it’s a fun event because there’s not as much pressure for me to do well.

Edward Nketia after winning the 100m final. Picture: Getty Images

“I would love to be a relay runner after my long jump at a major comp but at the moment I’m sticking to long jump.”

The final of the women’s long-jump is on Sunday.

New Zealand’s Zoe Hobbs finished second (11.44sec), Victoria’s Maddison Coates third (11.52sec) and teenager Riley Day fourth (11.63sec).

In the women’s 400m Bendere Oboya shrugged off the controversy surrounding the suspension of her coach to capture her first national title.

The Ethiopian-born runner, who drew comparisons to Olympic champion Cathy Freeman after she won the Commonwealth Youth Games title in 2017, has been without a coach after Greg Smith had his accreditation stripped as part of an ASADA investigation.

Oboya, 18, was untroubled to take victory in 52.00sec from Queensland’s Caitlin Jones (53.20sec) with Angeline Blackburn third (53.36sec).

“To me it is not really about titles, it is more about the time and I’m happy with the time,” she said.

Naa Anang wins the women’s 100m national title on Saturday night. Picture: AAP

When asked about Smith and the issues surrounding the American coach, she said: “No comment.”

London Olympic finalist Steve Solomon shrugged off an interrupted preparation because of a foot injury to win his sixth national 400m title, clocking 45.99sec to edge out Alex Beck (46.31sec).

In the men’s 800m it was a case of the understudy having his day with Peter Bol stepping out of the shadow of his training partner Joseph Deng to claim his first national crown.

Deng, who broke the long-standing national record last year, led for most of the race before capitulating over the final 200m which allowed Bol to surge to victory in 1min46.12sec.

Sydney’s Joshua Ralph powered home late for second (1:46.15sec) while Deng faded badly to finish a disappointing seventh.

Peter Bol and Joseph Deng after Peter Bol won the men’s national 800m title on Saturday night. Picture: Getty Images

“I came to my first senior nationals in 2013 and every year I have made the final except 2015 when I didn’t actually come so to come first today means a lot,” Bol said.

“Everyone says athletics is a patient game and now I realise what they mean, when you finally get one even though I didn’t get the qualifier, it feels great to win.”

In the men’s discus Toowoomba’s Matthew Denny produced a world championships qualifer on his final throw in the competition.

Denny had lived on the edge all season, getting within a metre of the 65.00m qualifying mark four times which added to the suspense last night.

After a foul on his fifth attempt, Denny stepped up and delivered with his last chance, sending the discus an impressive 65.28m.

Victoria’s Joel Baden also claimed a world championships qualifier in the high jump, winning his first national title with a personal best clearance of 2.30m.