Tuesday, 2 April 2019:
Australia's fastest man Patrick Johnson says the nation's rising crop of sprint stars can finally place his longstanding 100m national record under serious threat.
Next month will mark the 16th anniversary of Johnson's flying time of 9.93 seconds set in Japan - the only time an Australian has gone under the magical 10-second barrier.
New South Welshman Rohan Browning moved into equal third spot on the national all-time list with a blistering run of 10.08 last month in Brisbane - the fastest by an Australian in more than decade.
Countrymen Trae Williams, Jake Doran and Jack Hale - all of whom are also aged 21 or younger - have also clocked sub 10.2 times in the past year.
It sets up a thrilling four-way showdown at this week's national titles in Sydney.
"The great opportunity for all these guys, and you could include (200m specialist) Alex Hartmann in that group too, is that they can help each other out and that's what we're seeing now," Johnson told AAP.
"If they work well together they can all be running consistently in the 10.1s and 10.0s.
"Then there's that next step and it's very important not to rush it. The hardest thing is when you're so close.
"Browning's 10.08 is a great time but you've got to understand he still has to find another metre to get to sub-10.
"It's that understanding that you consistently have to run quick times before you can make that quantum leap."
Johnson won't be trackside this week at the Sydney Olympic Park Athletics Centre, as he's busy working alongside the likes of former rugby league greats Petero Civoniceva and Steve Renouf at Deadly Choices, a program which helps young indigenous Australians make the right decisions around diet, exercise and other health issues.
But Johnson is also keeping an interested eye on Australian sprinting's generation next.
"These guys need to be respectful about what it takes to be a sub-10 runner and if they do, there's no reason why it won't happen," he said.
"I would look at next year for a lot of these guys as being when they would be more likely to make that breakthrough.
"I would love to see another Australian run sub-10. That record is only there as a benchmark until someone breaks it."
The Australian men's 100m final takes place on Saturday evening.
Australian all-time 100m ranking
1. Patrick Johnson, 9.93 seconds, Mito, Japan, May 5, 2003
2. Matt Shirvington, 10.03, Kuala Lumpur, Sept 17, 1998
3. (tied) Joshua Ross, 10.08, Brisbane, March 10, 2007
and Rohan Browning, 10.08, Brisbane, March 23, 2019
5. Trae Williams, 10.10, Gold Coast, Feb 16, 2018
....
7. (tied) Jake Doran, 10.15, Jamsa, Finland, July 1, 2018
.....
13. (tied) Jack Hale, 10.19, Brisbane, March 23, 2019
