 "Who is Gout Gout, the Australian sprinter who broke Usain Bolt's record as world’s fastest 16-year-old in 200m?")
Is Gout Gout the next Usain Bolt? The 16-year-old Australian sprinter was first compared to the Jamaican sprint great Bolt after winning the 200m silver at the world under-20 championships in August and his latest feat has added to the expectations. On Friday, Gout ran the 200 metres in 20.04 seconds at the Australian schools championships in Brisbane to break the national record Peter Norman set at the 1968 Olympics.
His run was clocked at 20.07 but later revised down to take him under the 20.06 Norman posted to win silver behind Tommie Smith in Mexico 56 years ago. Smith and bronze medallist John Carlos later famously made Black Power salutes on the podium.
Gout’s remarkable 20.04 seconds surpasses the 20.13 seconds record set by athletics legend Bolt at 16 in a meet in Barbados in 2003.
“It’s pretty crazy,” said Gout. “Right now I can’t process it, but I guess tonight when I go to bed, I’ll think about it. These are adults. And me, I’m just a kid, and I’m running them (down)
“I’ve been chasing that record, but I didn’t think it would come this year. I thought it’d come maybe next year, the year after that.”
Gout Gout has just run the fastest 200m ever by an Australian!
— 7Sport (@7Sport) December 7, 2024
20.04 breaks Peter Norman's Australian record that has stood for 56 years!
WOW. pic.twitter.com/AzKDW3vQ5Y
Gout also ran a blistering 10.04 in the 100 metres heats on Friday in a wind of +3.4, the fourth fastest time in all conditions by an Australian.
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The son of migrants from war-torn South Sudan, Gout lives in the Queensland town of Ipswich just down the road from Brisbane, where the Olympics will be held in 2032 when he is 24.
Gout is currently the second-fastest under-18 runner in 200m. The u-18 record is held by United States’ Erriyon Knighton, who recorded a timing of 19.84s in 2021 as a 17-year-old.
Gout, who will turn 17 later this month, has next targeted breaking the 10-second barrier in the 100 and the 20-second mark in the half-lap race.
“I’ve always done what I said I would,” Gout added on Saturday. “So if I said something, it’s on my mind, and I’m pursuing it until I get it.”
Gout, however, has a while to go before he equals Bolt’s legacy. The legendary sprinter holds the all-time 200m all-age world record of 19.19s, which he achieved at the 2009 world championships. Bolt also won eight Olympic gold medals and the World Championships 11 times.
With agency inputs
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