Gout Gout breezes through 100m heat at national junior championships, rips American 'haters'

BRISBANE: Teen sprint sensation Gout Gout breezed through his heat of the 100 metres at the Australian athletics junior championships on Friday afternoon, clocking 10.19 seconds.

The 18-year-old then returned serve to his "haters" in the USA who've continued to throw shade after his record-breaking 200m at the senior championships on Sunday.

Lining up in the heats of the under-20 100m at Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre, Gout zipped through in 10.19 seconds with a +0.3 metres-per-second wind at his back.

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It was a tasty entrée to the semi-finals and final, to be run on Saturday afternoon.

"It's a good run. I definitely saved myself for semis and final, and I was just trying to pull a couple of these boys through. So definitely a good run and can't wait for tomorrow," Gout told reporters.

"I've definitely got more in the tank, for sure. Last week was a great run and I'm hoping to continue [my form] this championship, as well, and put on a little bit of a show, you know?"

Gout's personal best is 10 seconds flat, which he ran at a low-key meet on the same track in February.

The $6 million Adidas prodigy clocked 9.99 twice in two hours at the national senior championships in Perth last year – but in illegal wind conditions. The legal limit is +2.00mps.

Provided the weather gods are on his side, he's backing himself to crash through the 10-second barrier on Saturday.

"One-hundred per cent," he said.

"Hopefully the wind stays pretty calm, and anything is possible."

The Australian record is 9.93, set by Patrick Johnson in Japan in 2003.

Gout's chief rival, Brisbane sprinter Lachlan Kennedy, twice clocked 9.96 at the championships in Sydney last week.

Johnson and Kennedy are the only Australians who've cracked the 10-second mark in legal wind conditions.

Gout's critics in America, which include Olympic gold medallist and twice-convicted drug cheat Justin Gatlin, have been in uproar on social media this week, rubbishing the 19.67-second 200m he ran in Sydney on Sunday to break the world under-20 record.

The fastest Jamaican legend Usain Bolt ran as a teenager was 19.93 in 2004.

"You've got to do it outside of Australia," said Gatlin, the winner of the 100m dash at the 2004 Olympics and a four-time world champion.

"Show us you can do it outside Australia. That's the thing.

"You can run fast in comfort, everyone can run fast in comfort.

"But can you run fast in discomfort? That's where it's at. That's going to be a challenge for him because he's so used to running in Australia.

"So when he does, I'll be like, 'Gout Gout's in the building y'all, better watch out'."

Gout's loudest critic is US college sprinter and influencer Erin Brown.

"This shit is clearly fake," Brown said of Gout's 200m run.

"Obviously, overtly, this is as fake as it comes."

Brown pointed out that seven of the eight sprinters in the 200m final ran personal bests, and some of them by significant margins.

"Australia keeps producing some of the fakest marks that we ever see," Brown said, "and y'all gas that shit up every time, and then these people go get their arse stepped on."

Prodded for a response after his heat on Friday, Gout had choice words.

"I mean, there's always gonna be haters," the Queenslander said.

"I mean, if you've got haters, it means you're doing something right, so it is what it is.

"I never take it to [heart]; I just keep running.

"And, I mean, it was pretty fast, so that's probably why they're a bit mad, but it is what it is."

Do his critics motivate him?

"Yeah, 100 per cent," Gout said.

"I mean, it just motivates me to do it in even bigger races, for sure, and run even faster."

Gout's major event for 2026 is the world under-20 championships in Eugene, Oregon in August, where he wants to win gold in the 200m two years after having to settle for silver in Peru.

The Ipswich-born prodigy, whose fame exploded when he broke the Australian 200m record set by Peter Norman at the 1968 Olympics, will skip the Glasgow Commonwealth Games to focus on his final shot at glory at the world under-20 championships.