Matt Shirvington tips Rohan Browning to seize his chance in Tokyo

Matt Shirvington has tipped Australia’s fastest man Rohan Browning to make a big impact in Tokyo as he prepares to run in the 100 metres.

Sprinter Rohan Browning has been tipped for big things by Matt Shirvington. Picture: Getty Images.

Matt Shirvington believes Australia’s fastest man Rohan Browning will make a big impact in Tokyo.

“We both agreed there is a huge opportunity for him, a huge opportunity to step into that fastest man in the world space because when you look at the last 12 months of results, it is pretty wide open I have to be honest with you,” Shirvington said after speaking with Australian athletics’ rising star.

“I think without a doubt he can break 10sec in good conditions in the heats in Tokyo. If he can run 9.95s he will put himself in the mix for a medal based on how tight it is across the board.”

Browning has quickly become a poster boy for the track and field team. Not only is he fleet of foot, but he is good looking and well spoken. In short, he is a marketer’s dream.

Importantly, he can run like the wind. Even that, however, may not be enough to make an impact in the final of the 100m as the heats prepare to kick off on Saturday morning in Tokyo.

There is no Usain Bolt, but there is no shortage of sprinters capable of breaking the 10-second barrier. Browning will begin his campaign having fine-tuned his preparation in Australia under coach and three-time Olympian Andrew Murphy.

He is in the best shape of his career according to Murphy, who has presided over his rise through the sprinting ranks.

“With Rohan, we haven’t had the competition but we chose to stay in Australia and I think it has been a really good decision,” Murphy said.

“He didn’t travel overly well to Doha in 2019. He is training really well and the races we have had in camp, I think were spectacular on the weekend.

“Generally speaking, Rohan is a great racer so the competition should help him. If he can run 10.08s with no competition, then surely he will be getting sub-10.”

Shirvington, once the country’s fastest man and a former Olympian himself, has been a sounding board and source of sage advice to Browning since the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, where the sprinter narrowly missed a spot in the finals.

“I caught up with them on the Gold Coast after he has been devastated at missing the finals and just relayed my own experience,” Shirvington said.

“He reached out to me after that and said I need to set up a system of support. He was studying and working at the time.”

Shirvington helped organise some financial backing for Browning through the chair of the Athletics Australia Foundation, Andy Salter. That money allowed Browning to put more energy into his training and eased some of the financial challenges he was confronting.

“It wasn’t a giant wedge of cash but enough to take a little bit of pressure off,” Shirvington said.

Browning has gone from strength to strength since, culminating in his wind-assisted sub-10s time earlier this year. That run heightened belief that Browning could be ready to join elite company. The world was forced to take notice.

Shirvington has seen the change and will take a keen interest from afar in his role with host broadcaster Channel 7. He can sense something special may be about to unfold.

“I saw something in Rohan early on,” Shirvington said.

“He was always the bridesmaid to Jack Hale when they came through the juniors. If Jack wasn’t there, Rohan would have been thrust into the limelight.

“But in actual fact him being in the shadow for a short period of time really worked in his favour. His first nationals he finished third and didn’t kind of break through.

“Again, the bridesmaid. Then he went to his first major championships as an individual — the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. He went there in good form but missed out on the final by .01 of a second.

“Again, he was the almost guy. He went over to Doha for the world champs (in 2019), ran 10.40s and got kicked out first round.

“It was such a good lesson for him. He has just had this journey of learning. The difference in Rohan is that every time he runs he is getting more consistent, he has learned from his lessons and he is running his own race.

“To qualify for the finals in Rio was one thing. To qualify in Tokyo will be an easier path in some instances because there are going to be athletes … who have come off the boil.

“It is wide open, there is a huge opportunity.”