There’s something building in Australian athletics right now, and it feels different.

Not just results on paper, but energy. Rivalries, personality, a bit of edge. The kind of stuff that actually pulls people in. For a long time we’ve had great athletes, but now it feels like we’ve got a group coming through that’s not just competing, they’re making noise.

And that’s exactly what the sport needs.

You can’t go past Gout Gout to start with.

His recent 200m record run didn’t just turn heads here, it reached the other side of the world. And the reaction? A bit of noise, a bit of doubt, even some jealousy. Perfect. That’s great for the sport. When people start questioning it, talking about it, picking it apart, it means you’re doing something right.

Australia, a country of 27 million, suddenly has a sprinter putting up times that demand global attention. That’s not supposed to happen in their eyes. But it is.

And the conversation around his technique is interesting. You’ll hear people say if he tightens this or adjusts that, he’ll go even faster. Maybe. There’s always room for improvement at that level. But there’s also something to be said for leaving the instinct alone.

Not every great athlete has been textbook.

Sometimes it’s the feel, the rhythm, the natural way someone moves that makes them special. You tidy up the fundamentals, sure, but you don’t coach the life out of it. That X-factor, that bit you can’t teach, is just as important as anything technical.

Right alongside him is Lachlan Kennedy.

What he’s doing in the 100m is serious. Proper speed, proper intent. And the exciting part isn’t just his times, it’s what’s coming.

Because now you’ve got two young sprinters, in the same system, pushing each other.

That rivalry, if it’s handled the right way, is gold. The next few years watching those two go at it, improving, responding and raising the bar for each other, that’s where real progress happens. Iron sharpens iron. You don’t get better being comfortable.

And then you in the middle-distance discipline there is Jessica Hull and Claudia Hollingsworth.

That dynamic of experience versus youth is always compelling. Hull has built herself into a world-class athlete, consistent, tough, and proven.

Then you’ve got the younger group coming through hungry to the point where Hollingworth unfortunately clipped Hull in the Australian Athletics Championships semifinals and drama erupted.

I say unfortunately because when you have such a tight race with the hustle and bustle of a 1500m event, accidents happen.

That’s where rivalries are at their best.

We often see Australians in green and gold, all in together, supporting each other at Olympics and major championships. But the real edge? That comes at nationals, at state level, when it’s state versus state, mate versus mate.

One minute you’re competing against each other, the next you’re side by side representing the country. That’s the unique part of an individual sport like athletics. You represent yourself first, your club, your state, and if you’re good enough, your country. But there’s still that shared respect.

And I like seeing that bit of passion in it.

That willingness to go after each other, to want to be the best, to put in the hours when no one’s watching and then bring it when it matters. That’s what builds champions.

And the older guard are helping the new with Olympic champions training alongside the next generation and setting standards. Nina Kennedy is a great example of that. Giving back to grassroots, being around the system, showing younger athletes what it actually looks like to be elite. I’m sure most are doing the same in their respective clubs or state venues.

That stuff matters more than people think.

We might never have the depth or numbers of the US. But we’ve got something else. We’ve got athletes willing to work, to scrap, to make the most of what they’ve got. And right now, we’ve got a group that’s not afraid of the spotlight and the right people behind the scenes guiding and pushing their athletes.

So let the noise come from overseas. Let them question it, it’s actually laughable.

Keep putting up the times, keep showing up, keep doing the hard work. Because the more attention it gets, the more it proves that Australian athletics is doing something right.

And if this is where it’s at now, the next few years could be very, very exciting.