Aussie teenager Gout Gout blitzes heat for 200m final at World Athletics under-20 championships
Australian teenager Gout Gout has once again captured the imagination of athletics fans, with a stunning run wearing green and gold.
The 16-year-old Queenslander scored a dominant win in the 200m heats at the World Athletics under 20 championships in Lima, Peru overnight. But it was moreso how he did it.
The eye-catching performance saw Gout beat rivals by several metres, hitting the finish line in a time of 20.77s, despite slowing down for the final 20 metres or so from the finish line.
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Later in the day he qualified for the final - which will be on Saturday morning (AEST) - without pushing himself too much, recording a time of 21.07s.
Gout Gout in Peru. World Athletics
However, he will go all out in the final, which should give him a chance of breaking his own under-18 record of 20.69, and he could very well have the chance of snapping the Australian under 20 record of 20.41s.
Leading into the world championships, Gout's performances had already garnered millions of views online, after smashing rivals in Australian races and recording a personal best of 10.29 seconds in the 100m.
Gout's running style and the way in which he was beating his rivals gained worldwide attention, with many comparing his dominance to that of sprint legend Usain Bolt in his younger years.
Gout was born in Australia after his parents immigrated from South Sudan a couple of years before his birth.
Queensland teenager Gout Gout broke the 200m record at the Australian Junior Athletics Championships in 2023. Twitter
With the amount of talent Gout exhibits, keen judges believe he could be the face of the Brisbane Olympics in 2032, if he continues to develop and improve.
The teenager holds the Australian under 16 records for the 100m (10.57s) and 200m (21.41s).
He smashed his own record this year in the 100m to 10.29s and the 200m to 20.69s, which gave him the Australian under 18 record.
Peter Norman's time of 20.06s at the 1968 Mexico Olympics remains the Australian record in the 200m.
