Australian speedster Rohan Browning is set to line up in the men’s 100m dash at the Paris Olympics after overcoming a qualification scare.
Australia’s fastest man dropped out of the 56 spots available when World Athletics updated its Road to Paris tables last week, falling to 57th in his bid to qualify for a second Olympic appearance, but he’s now placed 54th after the governing body of track and field processed its final calculations.
Of the 56 men set to contest the 100m in France, 29 hit the entry standard of 10.00 seconds within the qualification period.
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Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson clocked the fastest time, cranking out a 9.77 (+0.9).
Kenyan Ferdinand Omanyala registered the second-fastest time, posting a 9.79 (+1.5), and Jamaica’s Oblique Seville chalked up the third-fastest qualifier with a time of 9.82 (+0.9).
Rohan Browning in action at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Cameron Spencer/Getty Images
The fastest time Browning clocked within the qualification period was a 10.10 (-0.1). The Sydney sprinter also posted a 10.06, but was assisted by an illegal wind of 4.1 metres per second.
He’s battled a knee injury in recent months. The injury hindered him at the national championships in Adelaide in April, where he finished fourth in the final.
Browning’s personal best is 10.01 (+0.8), which he recorded in a heat win at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago.
He became a cult hero at the Tokyo Games, shooting to fame with his flowing mullet, colourful personality and defeat of Jamaican sprinting great Yohan Blake.
Australia has qualified a 4x100m men’s relay team for the Paris Games and Browning will form part of a six-man squad.
Australia will also contest the women’s 4x100m at the Stade de France, anchored by national record holder Torrie Lewis.
Two Australian women have qualified via world rankings for the 100m dash in Ella Connolly and Bree Masters.
Wide World of Sports reported in April that Lewis was unlikely to compete in the 100m at the Paris Games.
The 19-year-old will race the 200m and 4x100m relay.