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Teenager Sebastian Sultana becomes Australia’s fastest man, beats Rohan Browning

Teenager Sebastian Sultana becomes Australia’s fastest man, beats Rohan Browning

NSW teenager Sebastian Sultana has been crowned Australia’s fastest man after taking out the 100m final at the Australian track and field championships in Adelaide on Saturday.

In a star-studded final including Olympic semi-finalist Rohan Browning, Sultana blitzed the field, winning the final in a time of 10.27 seconds.

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Sultana finished well ahead of Josh Azzopardi (10.39) and Jacob Despard in third (10.41), while Browning just missed the podium in fourth (10.41).

But while it was a massive boilover, it adds to an impressive resume of the youngster, who in 2022 broke the Australian under-18 record, beating it by a 0.11 of a second.

Having run a time of 10.17 in the semi-finals earlier in the day, it was a breakthrough run for Sultana.

“It feels amazing,” Sultana said after the race.

“After the semi I knew I could get it done and to actually get it done was really good.”

“Obviously (Browning) is a great athlete but I try to just focus on myself really, work on my execution.

“It’s a major confidence boost, I knew I could do it but I just had to put the race together. My goal and focus is World Relays and then potentially the Olympics and World Juniors later on in the year.”

Watch the 100m men’s final in the player above.

While it may be a shock that Browning was back in fourth, the 26-year-old came into the meet with a “little knee niggle”.

Speaking after winning his heat on Friday, Browning said: “I’ve been carrying a little knee niggle and I haven’t been able to do any accelerations for the last three weeks.

“I think my top end’s really good, but I’ve got to be able to set the race up.

“I feel like I’m probably a week away from being fully, fully fit. But the championships are this week, so I have to turn up.

“It’s nothing serious; it’s just an irritation that I battle every year. Every now and then it just rears up, but I know how to manage it.”

Browning is battling to qualify for the Olympics with his personal best time of 10.01.

The Olympic automatic qualification time is 10.00 for men and there are 56 places in the event.

It was a big day at the Australian championships as discus king Matthew Denny broke his own Australian record, throwing 69.35m — that throw would have won gold at the Tokyo Olympics.

At Tokyo, Denny finished fourth with a throw of 67.02.

“I have said before that my focus is to win the Olympics and I feel like a lot of people haven’t really taken that too seriously, which is fair enough considering I’m fourth in the order right now,” Denny said.

“Everyone knows I’m no BS when it comes to majors. I’m there to compete and to win medals and try to win championships.”

World Championships semi-finalist Adam Spencer won a star-studded 1500m final, edging the likes of Oliver Hoare and Jesse Hunt, while Jessica Hull won the women’s 1500m in a championship record time.

Pole vault world champion Nina Kennedy, who is returning off a stress fracture in her back after last season, also claimed the Australian title with a jump of 4.65m.

“I jumped off 12 steps. It’s a medium run for me because I’m coming off a back stress fracture after last season, so to come out and also jump close to my best is a nice confidence booster,” Kennedy said.

“Doha Diamond League and Marrakech Diamond League are next for me, and that will be the first time I’ve seen the girls since last year. I’m coming in good shape and I hope they’re a little scared.”

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