Browning tackles tune-up with 'little knee niggle'
An untimely flare-up means Rohan Browning is not in his typically superb condition for the national athletics titles this week.
Moderated by Tomas Kauer 
Adelaide: An untimely flare-up means Australian sprinting champion Rohan Browning is not in his typically superb condition for the national athletics titles in Adelaide this week.
But after taking control of his 100m heat with a taped-up knee on Friday afternoon, Australia's fastest man only described the injury as a "little knee niggle" and said he knew how to manage it.
Browning won his heat in 10.43 seconds to secure his semi-final ticket at SA Athletics Stadium.
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"I've been carrying a little knee niggle and I haven't been able to do any accelerations for the last three weeks," Browning told reporters trackside.
"I think my top end's really good, but I've got to be able to set the race up.
"I feel like I'm probably a week away from being fully, fully fit. But the championships are this week, so I have to turn up.
"It's nothing serious; it's just an irritation that I battle every year. Every now and then it just rears up, but I know how to manage it."
Browning will race the 100m semi-finals and final on Saturday afternoon, and is noted down for the preliminary 200m heats on the same afternoon, but whether he contests the longer distance remains to be seen.
His legal 100m personal best is 10.01 and he must run 10.00 or quicker to qualify for the Paris Olympics by time. Another avenue to a second Olympic appearance is via world rankings.
The fastest woman in Australia, 19-year-old Brisbane speedster Torrie Lewis, was listed to contest the 100m heats on Friday afternoon but withdrew.
The rising star will begin her campaign in the 200m, her chief event, on Saturday afternoon.
She's run 11.10 for 100m, a smidgen outside the 11.07-second Olympic entry standard, and 23.02 for 200m, a touch short of the 22.57-second Paris qualifying time.
Friday also saw Tokyo 2020 sensation Peter Bol make his first appearance at a national titles since 2022, having received an exemption for the 2023 championships amid the doping shambles that dogged his career.
The 30-year-old cruised through his heat in 1:51.03, doing enough to advance to Saturday afternoon's semi-finals. It marked just his second outing of the season, following an 800m showing at Sydney's Albie Thomas Mile in March.
At SA Athletics Stadium on Sunday evening, the Australian OIympic Committee (AOC) will reveal the first lot of track and field athletes selected for the Paris Games.
