The skies opened up over Melbourne’s Lakeside Stadium just as Lachlan Kennedy and Gut Gut emerged from the tunnel onto the track. It was, in Kennedy’s own words, “cinematic.” What followed lived up to every syllable of that word.
Kennedy took victory in the Peter Norman Memorial 200m at the Murray Plant meet on Saturday night, stopping the clock in 20.38 to edge out Gout Gout’s 20.43 in a slight -0.7 headwind. In doing so, the 22-year-old Queenslander became a back-to-back winner over Australia’s most popular sprint talent, having beaten Gout by 0.04 seconds at the same meeting twelve months ago.
“It was dry all night, and the moment we entered the tunnel and started to exit, it started raining,” Kennedy said after the race. “So I was like, ‘They’re making it cinematic like.'”
The scenario was familiar. Kennedy, running down the lane inside Gout, burst out of the blocks and built a commanding lead around the turn. At the halfway point, 18-year-old Gut found himself outside the top three. Then the inevitable return came like a tide. Just below the house, the gout unleashed a devastating explosion fifty meters into the run, eroding Kennedy’s lead with every step. It wasn’t enough. Kennedy held on, kept his composure and crossed the line first.
“You know it’s coming, so it’s all about hanging on and not panicking,” Kennedy said. “It will make up for things but you just know in your head that it’s coming and you just have to not panic and stay relaxed.”
That wasn’t all Kennedy did that night, either. Earlier in the evening, he had already won the men’s 100 meters with a time of 10.03 seconds, a new record. Not a bad double.
It is understood that the focus heading into the meeting with Maury Plant was on gout. The teenager has achieved remarkable feats in 2025: a national title in the Perth 200m, an Australian record of 20.02 seconds in Ostrava, and a debut at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo where he reached the semi-finals. Meanwhile, Kennedy missed the same world titles due to a back injury. The relative lack of interest in Kennedy suited Queenslanders.
“I don’t listen to noise much,” he said. “I just go out there and try to beat whoever is in front of me.”
For his part, Gout was gracious in defeat and was already looking forward to revenge. “Today he had a W, but next time I will definitely be better,” he said. “He’s a guy from Queensland, he’s a good friend of mine, so congratulations to him, but I’ll definitely be back.” The pair are scheduled to meet again in the 200m at the Australian Athletics Championships next month in Sydney.
Myers is rewriting the record books
If Kennedy and Gott weren’t enough to get the crowd excited, 19-year-old Cameron Myers took care of that in the John Landy 1500m.
Myers, who already holds three under-20 world records, achieved a time of 3:30.42 minutes, breaking the previous Australian record of 3:31.25 seconds, which was held by 2004 Moroccan Olympic champion Hicham El Guerrouj. This makes Myers the fastest man in history to run 1,500 meters on Australian soil.
“It was a good time,” Myers said with characteristic modesty. “I didn’t have any expectations, I just wanted to run fast and it was more about executing a good run for me.”
Hollingsworth holds the world champion
In the women’s 1,500 metres, 20-year-old Claudia Hollingsworth claimed a memorable win on home turf, running a track record of 4:01.30 to defeat Britain’s Georgia Hunter-Bell (4:01.52). Hunter Bell is no ordinary competitor, having won gold at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Toruń just days ago, edging out Australia’s Jessica Hall.
Hollingsworth admitted that the final lap was not without suffering. “My legs were tight but I supported everything I did in the lead up to the event,” she said. “I could hear my coach Craig Mottram shouting and I said: ‘Come on, get to the line, you’ve got this.’
Hunter Bell made no excuses despite the exhausting journey from Poland. “Claudia is in incredible shape,” she said. “Even if you’re quite active, it’s going to be a really good race, so kudos to her.”
Olympic champions deliver
Reigning Olympic champion Nina Kennedy won the women’s pole vault, clearing a record 4.72 metres, using three-quarters of her running, as she continues her comeback from an injury-hit 2025 Championships. World champion Nicola Oleslagers took the women’s high jump on countback after she and 18-year-old Isobel Louison-Roux cleared 1.95 metres.
In the men’s discus throw, Olympic bronze medalist Matthew Denny won with a best throw of 67.51 metres. The 29-year-old is setting his sights much higher next month, with a US world record attempt on the horizon. A sponsor has put up $100,000 if Denny breaks the current record of 75.56 meters held by Lithuanian Mikulas Alekna. Denny himself achieved a throw of 74.78 meters at a meet in Ramona, Oklahoma, last April, which placed him second in the all-time standings.
“A sponsor paid me $100,000 to break this, so it got me interested again in coming back,” Denny said. Britain’s Lawrence Okoye came in second place (65.09 m), while Olympic champion Roger Stona from Jamaica came in third place (64.60 m), although the Jamaican is still at the beginning of his preparations for the 2026 season.
Saturday night at Lakeside Stadium was everything Australian athletics can be. The rise of young champions, seasoned Olympians, and a very well-timed torrential rain that makes the whole thing look like something out of a movie.
