Australian teenager Gout faster than Bolt at 18
Gout Gout's time would have won bronze at the Paris Olympics in 2024
- Published
Eighteen-year-old Australian Gout Gout ran 200m faster than sprinting great Usain Bolt managed by the same age as he raced to a national title on Sunday.
The teenager clocked a superb time of 19.67 seconds to set a world under-20 record.
It was the first time that Gout had gone under the 20-second mark legally, after a wind-assisted 19.84 last season, and is the leading time in the world this year.
Gout previously had the quickest-ever time by a 16-year-old, setting a national record of 20.06 when he burst on to the scene in 2024.
Sunday's mark in Sydney put him ahead of Jamaican eight-time Olympic champion Bolt's time of 19.93 back in 2004.
Bolt was aged 17 when setting what was then a world junior record and never bettered that time as a teenager, before setting a string of senior world records later in his career.
United States sprinter Erriyon Knighton's 19.49 run in 2022 remains the fastest time by an U20 athlete, though it was not ratified as a world U20 record.
Knighton was nevertheless the holder of the U20 record with an official time of 19.69, set in June 2022, until Gout went quicker.
Aidan Murphy, who was second to Gout on Sunday, also beat the 20-second mark with a time of 19.88.
"This is what I've been waiting for," said Gout, who was born in Queensland to parents from South Sudan.
"We have such incredible athletes in Australia and me being able to race these athletes, we push each other to the limits. Two Australians sub-20. I mean, this is amazing.
"There's a big weight off my shoulders knowing I ran it legally, and I have the speed and my body to run times like that. So, it definitely feels great, and ready for more."
Gout has indicated that he will skip the Commonwealth Games, which begin in Glasgow on 23 July, to focus on the World Under-20 Championships in Oregon in early August.
