Newly crowned Australian 100m champion Lachlan Kennedy has pulled out of the 200m event at the national championships on Sunday morning, hours before he was due to compete.
The move robs thousands of fans expected to attend Sydney Olympic Park of a rematch between the Queenslander and Gout Gout, after Kennedy won their second duel at the Maurie Plant Meet last month.
Kennedy told journalists after winning the 100m on Saturday night that he was not sure whether he could back up for the 200m.
“Wait and see. See how that body pulls up. Listen to the experts, physios and all that, but yeah, we’ll see,” he said.
Australian Athletics confirmed Kennedy would not compete prior to competition starting on Sunday.
The rematch was set to be one of the highlights of these national championships. Kennedy, speaking on Saturday, acknowledged the fans’ expectation.
“I don’t want to promise anything and then not deliver, but I mean, we’ll see how it goes, just see how the body pulls up.
“Either way it’ll be good [competition] tomorrow whether I’m there or not.”
Kennedy backed up for the 200m at last year’s national titles, but was disqualified before the final in which Gout secured his first national title.
A stress fracture in his back forced Kennedy to miss last year’s World Championships, and he has been vocal this year about the need to give his body time to recover.
Gout is the clear favourite for the 200m on the final day of the championships, but breezy conditions will make it difficult for him to become the first Australian to break the 20s barrier. His personal best is 20.02sec.
The 800m finals, featuring Claudia Hollingsworth and Peter Bol, are also on Sunday. Kurtis Marschall is in action in the men’s pole vault, and Nicola Olyslagers and Eleanor Patterson will compete for the women’s high jump.
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