Sport

Canberra sprinter Edward Osei-Nketia breaks 100m record, but still chasing dad

 Like father, like son.

Canberra teenager Edward Osei-Nketia knew he'd broken the under-16 100-metre record as soon as he crossed the line at the Australian All Schools Championships.

Edward blitzed the field in 10.63 seconds, but he's not even the fastest runner in his family.

Edward, 15, etched his named into the junior sprinting history books 22 years after his father Augustine Nketia broke the New Zealand record at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in 10.11s.

Heading into the championships Edward's personal best time was 11.06s, but after obliterating that in his heat (10.75s), the young gun wanted more than just a gold medal.

"After the heat I put my mind to it and thought I'm not just going to win, I'm going to break the record," Edward said.

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"I was last out of the blocks but I had a really good comeback and as soon as I crossed the line I knew [I'd broken the record]. I was so happy, I thought I was in a dream."

Edward holds the Australian All Schools Championships record, but the wind assist level was just outside the limit, meaning it isn't recognised as an official national record.

Edward won every 100m race he contested in 2016 but admitted he was feeling the pinch before the starter's gun went off last month.

"In the final someone got disqualified for a false start so I was probably more nervous about getting disqualified than not winning," Edward said.

The record breaking dash marked a 0.60s improvement from the same race last year and Edward fell just 0.02s short of a second gold medal in the 200m final.

"I got silver in the 200m after running 21.68s which was another PB and I was only two milliseconds off first," Edward said.

The St Edmund's College student hopes to follow in the footsteps of his Olympian father and one day race alongside the world's fastest athletes.

"All my teachers call me Usain Bolt which I don't mind that at all," Edward said.

"I've got to thank dad for everything he's done for me, but I'd love to break his record one day. He went to the 1996 games in Atlanta so I want follow him and become an Olympian."

The schoolboy rugby player is trained by his father who believes a running career is there for his son, but only if he wants it.

"I knew Ed was going to run fast, but not this fast. I was very proud and excited watching the race and it makes him realise if he puts the work in he can run even quicker,"  Mr Nketia said.

"We're not training as much as I'd like to because of my work, but when we get out on the track Ed works really hard with his little brother.

"He loves his rugby too, so I don't know if he will stick with the running, he's a talented boy but when they grow up they get different ideas, we'll have to wait and see."

Edward said he would love to race at the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast and will need to run qualifying time of 10.23s in the next 18 months.