Aussie sprint sensation Lachlan Kennedy stuns Olympic champ
Sprinter Lachlan Kennedy has made an impressive Diamond League debut on an incredible day for Australian athletes on the world stage.
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Lachlan Kennedy has made an impressive debut at the Diamond League on an incredible night for Australia.
Aussie athletes pulled off five podium appearances and two national records at the season opening Diamond League meet in Xiamen, China, on Saturday night.
Kennedy has caught the eye of many as he finished the 100m final in fifth, going agonisingly close to a spot on the podium with a run of 10.18 seconds — just 0.01 seconds away from a spot on the podium.
His time was enough to best Paris Olympics 200m champion Letsile Tebogo, who was seventh with a time of 10.20.
South African Akani Simbine was a class above the rest of the field, running a 9.99 seconds race.
For the second time this year, Britain’s Jeremiah Azu tipped Kennedy by 0.01 seconds to sneak onto the podium.
Azu also took gold in the 60m at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in China last month with Kennedy taking a historic silver.
Kennedy’s performance on Saturday showed he has a big season ahead as the Diamond League heads to Shanghai next week.
Australian fans have plenty to be excited about this season after watching five Aussie athletes pick up podium finishes.
Olympic bronze medallist Eleanor Patterson and Olympic silver medallist Nicola Olyslagers, finished second and third respectively in another world-class high jump contest.
Paris Olympics gold medallist Yaroslava Mahuchikh cleared 1.97m to take the gold medal ahead of the Aussie duo.
“It was a lot of fun out there, I’ve enjoyed my time in Xiamen. I would have loved to have jumped a bit higher though,” Patterson said, per Athletics Australia.
“It was a really fast track and there was a huge clearance over 1.94m, and then my rhythm got lost over 1.97m. It’s so fast, so I think a lot of the girls weren’t quite ready for that. I’m ready to jump a lot higher and this is a good stepping stone for that. It’s the first Diamond League of the year and we get to settle into China a little bit more, with our next comp next week so I’m really excited.”
Liam Adcock also made an impressive Diamond League debut, finishing second in the Men’s Long Jump.
Adcock celebrated his 8.15m jump with an acrobatic backwards somersault that fired up the local fans.
“The crowd was so good, I had fun out there. It’s been good for my first Diamond League for me, but I hadn’t quite got used to the timezone yet and it’s late at home, so I think I could have got more in me,” he said.
Elsewhere, Abbey Caldwell and Rose Davies shattered the 1000m and 5000m Australian records respectively.
Caldwell crossed the finish line in second-place, having pushed Kenyan Faith Kipyegon, who threatened to beat her own world record in the 1000m.
Australian podium finishes at Xiamen Diamond League meet
Eleanor Patterson: Women’s high jump - silver medal
Nicola Olyslagers: Women’s high jump - bronze medal
Liam Adcock: Men’s long jump - silver medal
Abbey Caldwell: Women’s 1000m - silver medal
Sarah Billings: Women’s 1000m - bronze medal
Originally published as Aussie sprint sensation Lachlan Kennedy stuns Olympic champ
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