Canberra has a proud history of producing elite sporting talent, and now it can claim Australia's fastest 100-metre sprinter.
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Edward Nketia clocked the fastest all-conditions time in history by an Australian man with his 9.84 second effort at the Mt Sac Relays, while competing for the University of Southern California in the USA.
The tailwind of +2.8 m/s meant the time was not official, but it was still a momentous feat.
The sensational time beat Patrick Johnson's previous fastest wind-assisted 2003 run of 9.88 (+3.6), and marks yet another impressive performance for Australian men's athletics on the international stage, amid the rise of Gout Gout, Lachlan Kennedy and long-distance runner from Canberra, Cameron Myers.
"Thank you god. Job's not done," Nketia wrote on social media about his incredible effort.
"Scary times in [Australian] sprinting," said athletics commentator Mitch Dyer, who shared a video of Nketia's race.
Nketia, 24, was born in New Zealand but moved to Canberra as a teenager and went to St Edmund's College, spending a total of eight formative years in the capital.
Last year he completed a highly-publicised allegiance change from New Zealand to Australia, and since 2024 he's been based Stateside, competing for the University of Southern California.
He also had a stint in 2023 at the University of Hawaii on a American football scholarship before re-committing to sprinting.
"My goal with Australia is to break both the 100m and 200m record and also help the relay team to not just make the finals, (but) also to earn a medal on the big stage, and with the [Australian] team I believe it's possible," Nketia said after choosing to don the green and gold last year.
"Not just LA, the Commonwealth Games, world championships and the world relays, any chance we get."
Nketia has a younger brother Augustine Junior who is a sprinter, and his father Gus represented New Zealand too.
Before switching to represent Australia, Nketia was New Zealand's fastest man, but he missed out competing at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games and Tokyo Olympic Games.
Patrick Johnson still holds the fastest official time over 100 metres (9.93).
