Just a month after setting a new Australian record of 9.84sec in a men's 100m sprint, Auckland-born adopted Aussie ran a sizzling 9.74 in Nebraska this morning.
Nketia took out gold at a Big Ten college meet in Lincoln, Nebraska with a scorching time that was deemed illegal because of a tailwind (5.6m/s) more than double the legal limit of 2.0m/s.
It was nonetheless a massive tenth of a second quicker than his own time of 9.84 in California, the fastest 100m sprint recorded by any Australian athlete regardless of legality.
The 25-year-old has his eyes set on Patrick Johnson's legal Australian record of 9.93sec, declaring on his Instagram account after the meet that he "wants that actual record".
"Lesss (sic) make it legal next time," he declared.
"It's crazy man, to run 9.74 even with the wind. It shows I'm getting better and can see the progress and the season isn't over yet," Nketia said.
"I'm really hoping this season on the back of that to get a legal PB and show I can compete."
Nketia has exploded onto the scene during the 2026 college season and has thrust himself into the fledgling rivalry between fellow Australian sprinters Gout Gout and 22-year-old Lachlan Kennedy, who went toe-to-toe throughout some Australian meets earlier this year.
The adopted Aussie demonstrated his adeptness at the 200m distance during the same meeting by recording a race-winning time of 20.03, albeit with an even stronger tailwind of 7.5m/s (almost four times the legal limit).
