Source :- THE AGE NEWS
Better than Noah Lyles. Not quite Usain Bolt. Built like Asafa Powell. Called the Incredible Hulk and capable of winning world championships and Olympic gold, Eddie Nketia could be anything.
He might not only become the best Australian sprinter ever, but one of the world’s best, according to his college coach.
American sportspeople do a good line in hyperbole, but college coach Brenton Emanuel was insistent about the potential of Nketia, the man who a week ago ran faster than any Australian in all conditions.
With the wind at his back, Nketia ran the 100m in 9.84 seconds, quicker than national record holder Patrick Johnson’s legal 9.93s and Johnson’s best all-conditions time of 9.88s.
Blown away by the “insane” time, Nketiah, just weeks shy of his 25th birthday, thinks now he can run low 9.7 seconds.
His coach doesn’t doubt it. Emanuel, or Coach E as he is known at the University of Southern California where he is assistant track coach, was not saying Eddie will be the best the world has ever seen. After all, there was Usain Bolt. But he was saying he could be better than anyone the world is seeing right now. And if that happens, Nketia will do it wearing green and gold.
Nketia – not to be mistaken for former Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah – is the son of a New Zealand national sprint champion, grew up in Canberra, but ran for New Zealand until a few years ago when he switched allegiance to run for the country where he lived much of his life.
“Possibly I can go 9.7, low 9.7s, who knows. I just have to execute, and the time will come. I have to keep working on my finishing, but it will come with racing,” Nketia said.
“The Commonwealth Games [in Glasgow] is going to be my first opportunity to represent Australia, and that really excites me to finally pull on the green and gold jersey.
“The Commonwealth Games, and to help Australia get a medal as well in the relay; that will be one of my priorities, as well to be there for Australia on the big stage.
“The LA Olympics is in two years and my goal is to put my name out there. Hopefully to achieve a gold medal, but any medal will do, not just individuals but for the relays as well. It would be a beautiful thing to bring to the green and gold.
“I love that (Australian sprint) team. The talent is there. We just need to be in the camp together. I can’t wait to get together. That’s when we are going to be dangerous, especially the relay team. It’s going to be awesome; three of the fastest in Australia right now. It’s amazing.”
Coach E says the illegal wind that drove Nketia to his 9.84s is irrelevant, for he is just getting started, and his potential is untapped.
He calls him “the Incredible Hulk”, an athlete who can squat 400 pounds (180kg) as effortlessly as getting out of a chair, and likens his physique among sprinters only to former world champion Asafa Powell.
“I think he can be the best ever, definitely from Australia. He has teammates that are pretty good, too, so they can be the best in the world. They [Australian sprinters Lachie Kennedy and Gout Gout] have been duking it out lately. I think he, honestly – and we have talked about this in our staff, with Coach [Quincy] Watts, a former Olympian – could be one of the best ever. I can’t say he will be the best in the world because, obviously, Usain Bolt was an anomaly. But I think Eddie has a long career in track and field.
“He has the potential. I can’t guarantee anything like that, but I think he can give those guys [American Noah Lyles and Jamaicans Oblique Seville, Kishane Thompson] a run for their money.
“The things I see on a daily basis in practice; he is so powerful so strong. There is no one else I can think of that is built like he is, maybe Asafa Powell is, then he has a different thing he brings to the table, and I think he can be one of the greats.”
News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.
Michael Gleeson is an award-winning senior sports writer specialising in AFL and athletics.Connect via X or email.
