Gout Gout has looked like a star in the making for many months, but the teenage sprinting sensation has shattered another record on the track
Sprinting prodigy Gout Gout has added another breath-taking record to his ever-growing list of accolades. The Australian sensation, 18, took part in the Under-20s Australian Athletics Championship. in Sydney.
He set a new U20 world record and a new national record when he ran the 200m in a jaw-dropping 19.67 seconds. In doing so. he also became the first ever Australian to complete 200m in under 20 seconds.
Gout Gout struggled to hold back his emotions when he crossed the finish line, jumping up and down with joy and celebrating with his manager James Templeton. It was another astonishing display from a young athlete who has already captured the attention of Usain Bolt.
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He was expected to be firmly challenged by Lachlan Kennedy, a 100m champion who has also overcome him in the 200m on two occasions, but the young sprinter pulled out of the event early. Calab Law was another prospect who was expected to push Gout Gout, but he was left in the 18-year-old’s wake.
Aidan Murphy, who was best known in Australia for making a critical error which resulted in the country’s relay team from being disqualified at last year’s World Athletics Championship, was the closest contender to the teenager.
It was only towards the end when Gout Gout’s stride seemed to elongate, eating up yards of the track like a lightning fast Great White Shark – Murphy would finish with a time of 20.11 seconds, around half a second slower than Gout Gout.
Gout Gout had run the 200m at 19.84 seconds in the national championships last year, but it was deemed the tailwind at his back was too strong, rendering his then record breaking achievement as illegal. His 19.67s in Sydney shattered that and any time recorded by any other U20 athlete in the history of the sport.
At the same age, even Bolt, the fastest man to ever take to the track, did not reach that electrifying speed. Had Gout Gout recorded that time at the 2020 Olympic Games, he would’ve pipped American star Noah Lyles to the bronze medal.
Had he been involved 26 years ago when his country hosted the games in Sydney, he would have ended the day with a gold medal around his neck. The world appears to be at Gout Gout’s jet-heeled feet.
However, in an interview last year, Bolt warned his Australian prodigy to not look too far ahead. The eight-time Olympic gold medal winner said: “If he continues on this track it’s going to be good but it’s all about getting everything right. I mean, it’s never just easy.
“It’s always easier when you’re younger because I was there, I used to do great things when I was young but the transition to senior from junior is always tougher.
“It’s all about if you get the right coach, the right people around you, if you’re focused enough, so there will be a lot of factors to determine if he’s going to be great, and if he’s going to continue on the same trajectory to a championship or Olympics.”
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