In April 2026, the 22-year-old Lachlan Kennedy made history at the Australian Championships in Sydney by setting a 100m world record of 9.96 seconds. The run made him the first Australian man to break the 10-second barrier on home soil and moved him closer to Patrick Johnson’s national record. But behind the celebrations was an even bigger story. Kennedy accomplished this feat despite the fact that he has been dealing with a health issue since he was only 15 years old.

As a teenager, Kennedy was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Despite the demands of everyday life for someone with type-1 diabetes, the Australian star feels it should not be a limiting factor in sport. “Type 1 diabetes in sport doesn’t have to be a limiter,” Kennedy told Olympics.com from Australia’s 2026 Commonwealth Games training camp in Barcelona.

The 22-year-old feels that his discipline and knowledge of his body to manage the disease have helped him become a better athlete. “I know I eat a lot better when I’m managing my levels well,” Kennedy explained. “It doesn’t only teach me discipline, but it also teaches me nutrition and how to eat better, rest better, recover better.”

To control his condition, Kennedy uses a continuous glucose monitoring sensor that can monitor blood sugar levels in real time and communicate with his insulin pump. But even for the top fast runners, there are additional challenges. When racing, Kennedy takes his insulin pump off and has to carefully manage his blood sugar before stepping onto the track.

The Australian sprinter added that even a slight difference in his condition can impact the result. “ But I’m getting better at it each year.” Kennedy’s journey to becoming one of Australia’s fastest sprinters also took an unexpected route. At the time of his diagnosis, he was a promising rugby union player, competing as a speedy winger for Brisbane junior representative teams.

At 17, he switched his focus to athletics after his rugby coach encouraged him to run in the 4x100m relay for his school. The decision quickly changed the direction of his career. “I always knew I was fast, but I was fast on the footy field,” Kennedy said. After making rapid progress in athletics, Kennedy announced himself on the international stage with a silver medal in the 60m at the 2025 World Indoor Championships in Nanjing.

Throughout all of his trials, Kennedy keeps looking toward the future.

Kennedy has bigger goals beyond his record-breaking run

Kennedy’s first Olympics were at Paris 2024, where he was a member of Australia’s 4x100m relay team, which set a new national record. However, his next targets are major success at the 2026 Commonwealth Games and beyond. His immediate goal is to win gold in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay at Glasgow 2026, where he believes he can compete for multiple titles.

Beyond the Commonwealth stage, Kennedy is chasing Patrick Johnson’s Australian 100m record of 9.93 seconds. With his personal best standing at 9.96 seconds, he is only 0.03 seconds away from rewriting the national record. Kennedy also has bigger ambitions of becoming the greatest Australian sprinter ever. He believes he still has plenty of improvement left and has not reached his full potential yet.

Looking further ahead, he wants to return to the Olympic stage as an individual athlete at Los Angeles 2028 after competing in the 4x100m relay at Paris 2024. His ultimate dream is to compete at the Brisbane 2032 Olympics in front of a home crowd and experience the moment of representing Australia on home soil.