Kennedy breaks 100m record, hails golden age for Australian athletics

MELBOURNE – Australian sprinter Lachlan Kennedy said athletics in the country is entering a golden age after he and Torrie Lewis broke national 100m records while winning medals at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Kennedy clocked a personal best 9.85 seconds to break Patrick Johnson's Australian record of 9.93 seconds set in 2003 and claim the silver medal behind Cameroon's Emmanuel Eseme, who won the men's 100m final in 9.83 seconds on Tuesday.

Lewis also improved her own national 100m record in the semifinals before lowering it again in the final, where she secured the bronze medal with a time of 10.99 seconds.

"Far out ... we got a medal in every event we competed in," Kennedy, 22, told Australian media.

"Aussie track is clearly in, I think, the best spot it's ever been and our team is so strong.

"We're in a real golden age with a lot of youngsters and a lot of good veteran talent as well."

Kennedy became the second Australian sprinter to officially break the 10-second barrier in the men's 100m when he recorded 9.98 seconds at a meet in Kenya last year.

-Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Shri Navaratnam/Reuters