Aussie teen sprint prodigy Gout Gout breaks national under-20 record
Australian teen sprint prodigy Gout Gout has given another stirring indication that he may just be "the next Usain Bolt", as Sally Pearson pondered last month, in a mind-bending run in Brisbane.
At the Queensland All Schools Track and Field Championships on Sunday, Gout clocked a time of 20.29 seconds (+1.2 wind) over 200 metres to shatter the Australian men's under-20 record.
He is still only 16.
READ MORE: Star jockey Jamie Kah hit with 10-meeting ban
READ MORE: 'Lucky' All Blacks dodge late England misfires
READ MORE: 'Not proud': Piastri makes way for cranky teammate
Gout also recorded the fourth-best under-18 time in world history.
He broke the record in the preliminary round, before slipping his spikes back on shortly after and winning the title in a time of 20.52 seconds (+1.5 wind).
Gout's 200m personal best at 15 years old was 20.87, while Bolt's at the same age was 20.58.
When Bolt was 16, his 200m personal best was 20.13.
Gout's time of 20.29 registered on Sunday took 0.12 seconds off the Australian under-20 record set by Aidan Murphy in 2022.
Australian teen sprint phenom Gout Gout in action. Getty
The Brisbane speedster now owns the Australian under-16, under-18 and under-20 records in the 200m, as well as the under-16 record in the 100m.
His 100m personal best is 10.29 (0.0 wind).
Sunday's record-breaking run comes less than a week after he signed a professional contract with Adidas, joining the same franchise as reigning Olympic 100m champion Noah Lyles.
At the World Athletics under-20 championships in Lima, Peru in August, Gout clocked 20.60 to win silver.
At the same meet in 2002, Bolt had run a time of 20.61 to win gold.
Gout Gout. Tigers Athletics Club
The winner of the 200m in Lima was South Africa's Bayanda Walaza, who's almost two years older than Gout. Walaza claimed the title in 20.52.
One of seven kids, Gout was born in Brisbane in 2007, a couple of years after his parents immigrated from South Sudan.
He is coached by Diane Sheppard and is an exhilarating prospect ahead of the Los Angeles 2028 and Brisbane 2032 Olympics.
"He has an innate understanding of sprinting and it's amazing to think considering his age and that he's only had two to three years of training," Sheppard told Wide World of Sports in April.
"I'll say things and he knows exactly what I'm talking about ... like when I'm talking about foot placement or where his arms are.
"We don't fixate on his start. If he starts to mature a little bit more physically then it could be earlier than 18 that we look at that more.
"At the start of last week I looked at him and thought, 'Wow, you've gotten taller and bigger'."
