New Zealands fastest man has controversially missed selection for the Tokyo Olympics and now says hes waiting on a phone call from Crusaders coach Scott Robertson.
Last week, sprinting sensation Eddie Osei-Nketiahit out at the New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) over his non-selection for Tokyo, alongside fellow sprinter Zoe Hobbs.
Of the decision, Osei-Nketia, 20, said: It sucks and its unfair.
The NZOC did not see either Osei-Nketia or Hobbs being capable of a top 16 placing in Tokyo despite Osei-Nketia being eligible for selection due to world rankings and regional performances. He was outside the automatic qualification standard of 10.05 seconds for the 100-metre event.
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But the man who has a personal best of 10.12 seconds, which was set earlier this year in Brisbane and sits just behind his father, Gus Nketia’s, all-time New Zealand record of 10.11, appears to already be looking at a potential career change.
The Crusaders have already undertaken preliminary discussions with Osei-Nketias management, according to RugbyPass.
Every Kiwi athlete who arrives in Tokyo, Japan, ahead of the Olympic Games is greeted with a haka.
Osei-Nketia was a rugby and track star at St Edmund’s College in Australia before moving to New Zealand to align with the black singlet and attend Scots College in Wellington.
Last week, my manager told me that the Crusaders were actually keen on me, and he said that Scott Robertson wanted to have a chat with me, Osei-Nketia told RugbyPass.
I havent heard from him yet, but Im assuming hes a busy guy. I havent heard anything, yet, from anyone else, Osei-Nketia said.
Hannah Peters/Getty Images
Eddie Osei-Nketia is reportedly interested in playing rugby under coach Scott Robertson, pictured, for the Crusaders.
Its not the first time Osei-Nketia has attracted the attention of professional rugby setups in New Zealand.
He has previously visited the New Zealand Sevens camp and New Zealand Rugby confirmed to Stuff it was interested in Osei-Nketia back in 2019.
I can confirm Eddies management team reached out to the Crusaders about his desire, having missed out on Olympic selection, to pursue a professional career in rugby, a Crusaders spokesperson told RugbyPass.
These were preliminary discussions to explore what opportunities and pathways are available to Eddie, to fulfil his athletic potential within a high-performance rugby environment.
However, these conversations have not extended to the possibility of bringing Eddie to the Crusaders, so it wouldnt be appropriate for us to comment further, the spokesperson said.
