Kiwi-turned-Australian sprinter Eddie Nketia has clocked a staggering 100-metre time of 9.74 seconds at a college meet in the US – although it won’t count for record purposes because of a howling tailwind.

Nketia, who swapped his allegiance to Australia late last year, did the 100-metre/200-metre double for the University of Southern California at the Big Ten Track and Field Championships in Nebraska on Sunday (local time).

It was the second time in as many months that the 25-year-old had gone faster than Patrick Johnson’s longstanding Australian 100-metre record of 9.93.

But the tailwind has above the legal mark of two metres a second both times.

“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.

“The all-conditions record is nice, but I really want that actual record.

“I think the future is bright. When I get out of college I’m looking forward to competing everywhere, including hopefully Europe this year.”

Nketia also won the 200 metres in Nebraska in 20.03, with the tailwind was a staggering 7.5 metres a second for that event.

He could form part of what would be a formidable Australian 4×100-metre relay team also including the likes of Gout Gout, Lachlan Kennedy and Rohan Browning at next year’s world championships in Beijing and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Last month, the American coach charged with refining Nketia’s raw power forecast the muscular sprinter could one day challenge the world’s best.

“We’ve talked about this within our staff … Eddie could be one of the best who’ve ever done it as a whole,” USC track and field assistant coach Brenton Emanuel said.

“I can’t say he’ll be the best in the world because obviously Usain Bolt was an anomaly, but I definitely think Eddie has a long career in track and field.

“We’ve made some changes to his diet and his physique and stuff like that, and I think it’s paying off.”

-AAP