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Exclusive: Eddie Nketia overcome with emotion on receiving NZ gear before World Athletics Championships debut

"I'm going to be wearing the black singlet the day I race," the sprinter said holding back tears.

Our most talented sprinting prospect for some time is about to embark on the adventure of a lifetime.

From rubbing shoulders with global sporting stars in Germany and Austria, to competing at his first World Athletics Championships, it's safe to say Eddie Nketia is excited.

And if anyone ever needed reminding what it means for an athlete to represent New Zealand, the 18-year-old’s emotional response to receiving his official gear for the world champs is a wholesome reminder.

“I’m going to be wearing the black singlet the day I race,” the sprinter said holding back tears.

1 NEWS was with Nketia for his big day in Auckland, before he heads off to Europe and the Middle East in a few days time.

“This is going to be my first time travelling overseas, going to the Northern Hemisphere, visiting each country and getting to experience the culture.”

The teenager’s trip includes a visit to the head office of his new sponsor, Adidas, in Germany. He'll also compete in Austria before joining the New Zealand team in Cyprus for a pre-World Championship camp.

But before all that, Nketia went through a whirlwind day trip from home in Wellington to Auckland to undergo photo and video shoots as well as testing and training with one of his specialist coaches, Dr Angus Ross.

Dr Ross and his team work with a number of Olympians and world champions inside and outside of athletics, but he told 1 NEWS Nketia is unlike anything he’s seen yet.

“He's so raw there are so many things to work on, which is really exciting,” Dr Ross said.

“[But] he’s a big boy so the way he trains, he won't be able to do the running volume some other guys do.

“We haven't done any weights yet.”

A chance to run on the world's biggest stage in Doha in a few weeks at the Athletics World Championships has the teenager fizzing rather than being full of nerves, like he was before the Oceania Champs in June.

“I'm not going to lie, I was actually quite scared.” Nketia told 1 NEWS.

“All the pressure, the experience, everybody had high expectations on me.

“The pressure on me has calmed down, but the confidence has risen up.”

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