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Rohan Browning stuns athletics world in never-before-seen Aussie moment

The Tokyo Olympics hero has produced the fastest 100m time from an Australian on home soil.

Rohan Browning, pictured here becoming the fastest Australian in the 100m on home soil.
Rohan Browning is the fastest Australian in the 100m on home soil. Image: Channel 7/Getty

Rohan Browning has produced the fastest 100m time in history from an Australian on home soil, and the third-fastest from an Aussie anywhere around the world. The Tokyo Olympics hero clocked an extraordinary time of 10.02 on Saturday night to win the national championships in Brisbane.

It marked the third-quickest Aussie time ever in the event, behind Patrick Johnson's national record of 9.93 set in 2003 in Japan, and his own personal best of 10.01 at the 2021 Olympics. Remarkably, the 10.02 is the fastest time ever by an Aussie on Australian soil, with the two faster times both set in Japan.

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It also marked Browning's best sequence of times at a single meet, after he won his opening-round heat in 10.18 on Friday and his semi earlier on Saturday in 10.17. And according to the 25-year-old, it's only a matter of time before he joins Johnson in the sub-10 second club.

"In the past I would have really struggled to have run three rounds," he said. "I'm a lot more robust now; just a little bit older and more mature.

"I understand my body a lot better and I want to be a threat on the global scene. So I've got to go sub-10. It's bittersweet today but it's not far off."

Rohan Browning, pictured here producing the fastest 100m time from an Australian on home soil.
Rohan Browning produced the fastest 100m time from an Australian on home soil. (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images) (Getty Images)

Browning burst onto the global stage at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 when he won his 100m heat, despite facing Jamaican star Yohan Blake. The Aussie said his run at the Queensland Sports and Athletics Centre on Saturday night felt technically very similar to his breakthrough effort of 10.01 at the Olympics.

It also came without any wind assistance or the sort of hot conditions that sprinters thrive in. "Thirty-degree weather and two-metre tailwinds is what you want, but nobody can control that," Browning said.

"I'll just keep racing this season and the day I get fast conditions, which I haven't really had all year, purely down to bad luck, I'll break through. It's got me hungry for the rest of the year on the international circuit."

Torrie Lewis makes history in women's 100m

Former Stawell Gift winner Dhruv Rodrigues Chico was second in a time of 10.21. In the women's event, teenager Torrie Lewis became the second-youngest winner of the blue-riband race in the 100th edition of the national titles.

The 18-year-old Queenslander crossed the line in 11.38 - a feat only Debbie Wells has achieved at a younger age. "I try not to let milestones define me," said Lewis.

"It's really great and it's such an honour but I want to be able to keep moving forward. To be able to do it this young is just more fuel for my future."

Meanwhile, Jessica Hull clocked a championship record time of 4:04.19 to win the women's 1500m against a high-quality field. Abbey Caldwell - who won bronze at the Commonwealth Games last year - was second, while Tokyo Olympics finallist Linden Hall got the bronze.

Cameron Myers came up just short in his bid to become the second-youngest Australian man to win a national track title. The 16-year-old led for much of the men's 1500m race, but eventually finished second behind surprise winner Callum Davies (3:37.92). Myers clocked 3:38.02, while Matthew Ramsden was third in 3:38.34.

Joel Baden locked in his spot on the team for August's world championships in Budapest with victory in the men's high jump (2.32m), while Brandon Starc was second with 2.29m. Mackenzie Little won the women's javelin with a best throw of 61.46m, triumphing ahead of two-time world champion Kelsey-Lee Barber (57.05m) in a reversal of the result from last year's Commonwealth Games final.

The national titles marked Barber's first competition in 204 days. And Commonwealth Games gold medallist Matt Denny claimed a sixth national discus title with a best throw of 63.20m.

with AAP

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