A sprinter who once dreamed of playing rugby for New Zealand’s All Blacks and even took a shot at American football is now capturing Australia’s attention as their newest track star alongside rising teen sensation Gout Gout.
Eddie Nketia posted Australia’s quickest 100-meter time of 9.84 seconds at a U.S. collegiate competition last month, though strong tailwinds prevented the mark from becoming an official record.
Australian track fans who have been following 18-year-old Gout and 22-year-old Lachlan Kennedy now have another emerging sprinting star to watch.
The 24-year-old Nketia, who competes for the University of Southern California, says the reaction in Australia following his 9.84-second performance at the Mt SAC Relays has been almost as shocking as achieving the time itself.
“Honestly, it was genuinely a surprise, because I never expected I could run 9.84 in my life,” Nketia shared during a video interview from his California training base.
“And it’s like, ‘Look at where we’re at now’. My name is everywhere back in Australia. And it’s a lot to take in. It’s insane.”
Before this breakthrough performance, Nketia remained largely unknown to Australian athletics fans, despite the country’s renewed enthusiasm for track and field sparked by Gout’s achievements.
Born in Auckland, Nketia only changed his sporting allegiance from New Zealand to Australia this past December following a required waiting period that prevented him from competing in major international competitions.
Though he grew up primarily in Canberra, Nketia returned to New Zealand to complete his high school education.
His father, Gus Nketia from Ghana, was also a sprinter who maintained New Zealand’s fastest 100-meter record of 10.11 seconds for 28 years until his son broke it with a 10.08-second run at the 2022 world championships, with Gus serving as his coach.
While New Zealand media celebrated that emotional achievement, Nketia’s relationship with the country’s athletics federation had already become troubled.
New Zealand maintains demanding standards for Olympic team selection, only choosing athletes who can demonstrate potential to place in the top 16 of their events.
For Commonwealth Games competition, where the field is typically weaker, only athletes capable of finishing in the top six are considered.
This selection approach has frustrated numerous New Zealand athletes over the years, and Nketia openly criticized Olympic selectors after being excluded from the Tokyo 2020 Games.
When he was also passed over for the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, Nketia decided to make a change.
“Circumstances just kept ruining my chances of becoming a better athlete,” he explained.
AMERICAN FOOTBALL
Leaving his birth country behind was difficult for Nketia, who maintains pride in his New Zealand roots and had once been a talented junior rugby player aspiring to join the legendary All Blacks.
He completely abandoned track and field to join the University of Hawaii’s football program, explaining he needed a complete change of direction.
“It wasn’t essentially that I was tired of track. I was just tired of missing Games,” he said.
Standing 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighing approximately 215 pounds, the powerfully built Nketia played wide receiver before eventually returning to track with USC.
His USC coach Brenton Emanuel has nicknamed him the “Incredible Hulk” because he’s gentle away from competition but transforms into a force on the track. Emanuel believes Nketia has the potential to rank among sprinting’s all-time greats.
“He puts his superpower on and he just goes,” Emanuel said while joining Nketia on the video call.
Nketia has his sights set on winning championship medals and has marked the July 23 to August 2 Commonwealth Games on his calendar as a major target.
Before Glasgow, he wants to officially break the 10-second barrier in the 100 meters during the NCAA season.
Only two Australians have achieved sub-10-second times: Patrick Johnson with 9.93 seconds and Kennedy with 9.96 seconds, while Gout’s personal best stands at exactly 10.00 seconds.
Although Gout won’t compete in Glasgow, Nketia envisions future showdowns in Australia next year against both the teenager and Kennedy.
The possibility of all three combining for relay teams also excites Nketia, as he believes they could establish Australia as a sprinting powerhouse capable of challenging the United States and Jamaica.
“When it comes to world championships next year … and Olympic Games as well, it’s like we’re going to go all the way, do what we can to get as many podium results as possible,” he said.
