Kiwi sprinter Eddie Osei-Nketia may be gearing up to pursue an NFL dream through college football in the US but 1News can reveal plans are afoot to not just keep one of New Zealand's most promising sprinters on the track — but send him to this year's world championships.
Coach Gary Henley-Smith has told 1News fresh conversations are underway for Osei-Nketia to race for New Zealand again with targets being a meet in Japan in May before the World Championships in Budapest in July.
"We would be very keen for him to run at the world champs and if he kept running faster, it's pretty hard to not go with what you're doing well," Henley-Smith said.
"I know that Athletics New Zealand are quite keen for him to go to the world champs."
Osei-Nketia bid an "emotional" and "heartbreaking" farewell to athletics with an impressive 100m win at the Brisbane Track Classic at the weekend — his final track event before taking up a US scholarship at the University of Hawaii to play American football.
The 21-year-old won the race with a time of 10.13, beating Australian ace Rohan Browning as well as Kiwi rival Tiaan Whelpton to win the final.
"[I was] going through my mind like, 'oh my god, I finally beat Browning'. It's been two years now but I finally beat him," Osei-Nketia said.
"But after five seconds I realised it has all come to an end… I can't believe I'm only 21 right now and I'm already saying goodbye to athletics and I just feel like it's too young for me."
Coincidentally, thanks to that very race, Osei-Nketia may well have the breakthrough he needed for that farewell to be premature with new, cutting-edge shoes also believed to be a factor.
"My coaches kept on telling me I should wear the new shoes but I was very scared because I had never tried them my whole life," the sprinter said.
"But it was my last race so I was like, 'alright, I'll try those shoes out' and I was flying!
"It was crazy!"
Henley-Smith said the newly-fitted Osei-Nketia could have broken his New Zealand record of 10.08s if there had been a bit of wind in Brisbane.
"He may have even run 10 flat or 9.9 — that's the sort of shape he's in so we would definitely like him to stay in the sport."
Athletics New Zealand couldn't be reached for comment today by 1News but for an athlete who still wants to go to the Olympics, this may just be a new pathway.
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