Aussie sprinting gun Rohan Browning not ready to give up mantle to younger rivals like Gout Gout

With Gout Gout fast emerging on Australia’s sprinting scene, the forgotten man of Australian athletics is back on track, refreshed and ready to take up the fight.

AUSTRALIA’S second fastest man in history Rohan Browning has warned his younger rivals that he’s not ready to be “put out to pasture yet”.

While the hype around teenager sensation Gout Gout, who wowed Perth on night one of the national athletics championships, and emerging star Lachlan Kennedy has stolen the spotlight ahead of this weekend’s national championships, Browning has warned he still has plenty to offer.

Rohan Browning in the men’s 100m Final as part of the Maurie Pant Meet at Lakeside Stadium in March. Picture: Graham Denholm/Getty Images

After taking the longest break of his career following a disappointing Olympic campaign in Paris, a refreshed and injury-free Browning is ready to reclaim his sprint crown.

“I absolutely still have total belief (in breaking 10 seconds), the day that I lose belief in that is the day I retire,” he said.

“My thing is I’m not ready to be put out to pasture yet, these guys forget that a couple of years ago they were all asking me for selfies and I will remind them of that in the call room.”

Browning has returned refreshed after a disappointing Paris Olympic campaign. Picture: Michael Klein

Browning, 27, ran a career best 10.01sec in the heats of the 100m at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics – it is the second fastest time by an Australian behind Patrick Johnson’s 9.93sec.

He is excited about the arrival of Gout who he describes as “immensely talented” and Kennedy who ran 10.03sec, the fastest time in Australia this year, in Perth last month.

Rohan Browning in the men's 100m Semi-Final at the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games. Picture: Matthias Hangst/Getty Images

“He (Kennedy) has obviously tapped into a rich vein of form, I think it’s great and it’s been good for me as it definitely woke me up from a bit of a slumber,” Browning said.

“It’s so good that the competitive bar has been raised, it’s good for all of us and bridges the gap to the international season, the major championships.

“You want high quality racing as frequently as possible, that’s what you get in the US, that’s what the guys get access to in Europe at a much higher frequency and now we are getting it here.

“I don’t think there has ever been a situation where multiple guys are running 10.0 in domestic meets.

“That is the benchmark, you need guys running 10.0 and if you have a cluster of guys running 10.0 then somebody goes under.”

Browning is all praise for Lachlan Kennedy and Gout Gout. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Browning opened his season in Brisbane last month, clocking 10.12sec and believes the hot conditions in Perth will see something special in Saturday night’s 100m final.

“All the elements are there for someone to go under 10 I’m just hoping it’s me,” he said.

Part of the reasoning for taking time off post-Olympics was to give his knee time to heal. He’d had chronic inflammation for the previous 12 months which saw him limp into Paris a shadow of his best.

Browning during his first round exit in Paris. Picture: Christian Petersen/Getty Images

“Professionally on the track it was an abject failure,” he said about his first-round exit. “Everything off the track was brilliant, I had a lot of family and friends there and it was a very, very special time of my life that I will look back on fondly.

“But what hit home was the sentiment that I don’t need to scrape onto teams, it’s different when you are young, these guys who are 21 you do everything you can to make a team.

“I’m at the stage of my career where I don’t necessarily need that anymore. What I really need to be is a threat and go to that next level.”

Some soul-searching in Europe catching up with mates while travelling around for a couple of months proved to be the perfect tonic for the Sydney sprinter.

Rohan Browning with a stunning 10.02 to take the national title 🔥 pic.twitter.com/L0KhQhPLAl

— Lachlan McKirdy (@LMcKirdy7) April 1, 2023

“I definitely flirted with the idea (of retiring), I finished uni a couple of years ago and you want to feel like you are progressing,” Browning said.

“Lucky my sponsors stood by me and that has allowed me to stay in the sport and just keep progressing.

“I think Australia, in particular, has an obsession with the prodigious talent and I actually think sometimes some of the best talent develops over a long period of time.

“There are a long list of athletes who have come good later in life. When I look back at my career now I really should have run sub 10 by now, that was what I had seen for myself.

“But I am no longer overly invested in that timeline. One of the most important things post Paris was not falling into the trap thinking that I am over the hill and that I’m trying to cling onto the best years.

“The reality that I see for myself is this is the start of my best years, these are the years that I spent a decade building towards and I want to squeeze it out, milk them for all they are worth.”

Originally published as Aussie sprinting gun Rohan Browning not ready to give up mantle to younger rivals like Gout Gout