Veteran sprinter Rohan Browning has declared his best years are still to come after producing a personal best run to win the Australian national 100m crown in Perth.
Much of the talk leading into the Australian Athletics Championships in Perth was whether 21-year-old Lachie Kennedy or 17-year-old Gout Gout could break the magical 10-second mark.
Gout posted two runs of 9.99 in the Under 20 field on Thursday night, but both were achieved with illegal tailwinds.
Kennedy ran 10 seconds flat in his first-round heat and was a hot favourite for the final.
But it was Browning who came up trumps, winding back to the clock to pip Kennedy in a dramatic photo finish.
Browning’s time of 10.01 (.001) bettered that of Kennedy 10.01 (.006) by five-thousandths of a second.
It also marked a huge statement of intent from Browning, who had fallen off the pace in recent years due to a lingering knee injury and appeared destined to never repeat his 10.01 effort from the 2021 Tokyo Games.
Gout and Kennedy still headline what is promising to be a golden generation in Australian sprinting.
But Browning has his own ambitious plans of becoming just the second Australian sprinter to crack the 10-second barrier and push Patrick Johnson’s national record of 9.93.
“I’m 27 now,” Browning said.
“I think after the Paris Games, I fell into the the trap of thinking, ‘God, I’ve got to try to hold on to my best shape’ – you know, Tokyo, 10.01.
“And then one day I woke up and realised it’s such an unhelpful narrative.
“I realised I’ve been in this sport for a decade building towards my peak years. These are the start of my peak years. This is where I really cash in.
“I want to be around for LA (2028 Olympics) and hopefully beyond, and be a nuisance for these guys for longer.”
Browning always had faith he could overcome his injury troubles to become a force yet again.
“I really couldn’t believe how many people came out of the wood works to knock me last year off the back of a really tough year,” Browning said.
“I think it (my national title in Perth) just makes it emphatic.
“And I had all the training data suggesting I was in my best shape, and I knew it, but I hadn’t showcased that to anybody yet. But that’s all right.
“I think (someone) posted a story calling me the OG (Original Gangster) father of Australian sprinters.
“I wanted to come out and remind these guys who their dad is. There’s a lot of short memories in this sport.
“I’m fully healthy now, really confident in my knee and just really keen for the year ahead.
“And I’d love to get back involved in the relay now that I know that I can be a weapon.”
https://thewest.com.au/sport/athletics/browning-keen-to-show-young-pups-whos-the-sprint-boss-c-18354102
