Brisbane sprinter Lachlan Kennedy has claimed Commonwealth Games silver and broken the Australian men’s 100-metre record in a rain-soaked final in Glasgow. The 22-year-old ran 9.85 seconds at Scotstoun Stadium, becoming the first Australian to legally break 9.90. Cameroon’s Emmanuel Eseme won gold in a Games record of 9.83, finishing two-hundredths of a second ahead.
Kennedy’s performance also ended Australia’s 64-year wait for a Commonwealth medal in the men’s short sprints. The last had come in 1962, when Michael Cleary won bronze over 100 yards.
Kennedy had travelled to Glasgow aiming for gold. Although he fell narrowly short, he left with a national record, a major personal best and a silver medal from his Commonwealth Games debut.
He later credited his support team for helping him produce the race in difficult conditions. The result, he said, reflected both his faith in their work and his confidence in performing under pressure.
Gregory Terrace celebrates a former student
The achievement resonated back in Brisbane at St Joseph’s College, Gregory Terrace, where Kennedy completed Year 12 in 2021. The school congratulated its former student on social media after the final.
Before becoming Australia’s fastest 100m runner, Kennedy spent much of his childhood and adolescence playing rugby. He continued with the sport while attending Gregory Terrace, one of Queensland’s established GPS schools.
Athletics initially sat alongside rugby rather than replacing it. However, his sprinting improved sharply during his final school years, and by September 2021 he had lowered his 100m best to 10.51 seconds.
This achievement carried him beyond school competition and into national junior ranks.
A decisive run through Glasgow
Kennedy arrived in Scotland as the Australian champion and one of the leading sprinters in the Commonwealth field.
His ranking earned him a bye through the opening round, meaning his first competitive run on the Scotstoun track came in the semi-finals. He responded with 9.94 seconds, then the fastest legal 100m of his career.
The run also improved on the 9.96 he had recorded during the Australian championships earlier in 2026. Heavy rain soaked the track for the final, but Kennedy found another level. He improved by nine-hundredths of a second to set the new Australian and Oceanian record.
Australian teammate Eddie Osei-Nketia also reached the final, finishing sixth in 10.06. It was the first time since 1982 that two Australian men had contested the Commonwealth 100m final.
A record 23 years in the making
Kennedy’s 9.85 replaced Patrick Johnson’s Australian record of 9.93, set in 2003. He had already become only the second Australian man to legally break 10 seconds when he ran 9.98 in Nairobi in May 2025.
A stress fracture in his lower back then interrupted his progress and ruled him out of the World Athletics Championships later that year.
Kennedy returned to racing in 2026 and quickly rebuilt momentum. At the Maurie Plant Meet in Melbourne, he won the 100m in 10.03 before defeating Gout Gout over 200m in heavy rain.
Weeks later, he ran 9.96 on his way to his first Australian 100m title, having already met the Commonwealth Games qualifying standard.
From school athletics to the world stage
Coach Andrew Iselin has guided Kennedy through his rise from school athletics to international sprinting.
Within a short period, Kennedy progressed from school competition to the 2022 World Under-20 Championships. He later joined Australia’s 4x100m relay squad for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
His first major senior individual medal came at the 2025 World Indoor Championships in Nanjing, where he won 60m silver in 6.50 seconds. Earlier that year, he had set the Australian 60m record of 6.43 at the national short-track championships in Canberra.
Kennedy has also remained closely connected to Queensland athletics. He represents the University of Queensland Athletics Club and competes under the Queensland banner at national events.
Now, the former Gregory Terrace rugby player holds the Australian men’s 100m record.
Published 29-July-2026
