Gout Gout stuns athletics world again as Aussie teen breaks 31-year record after Usain Bolt warning

Aussie teen sprint sensation Gout Gout has stunned the athletics world again, after an extraordinary 31-year first that's drawing more comparisons with Usain Bolt. The 16-year-old Gout already broke the greatest sprinter of all time's record in the 200m at the U20 World Championships in September - clocking a time of 20.60 seconds to be 0.01 seconds faster than Bolt's record at the same meet.

Gout burst onto the global scene by claiming the silver medal in the 200m at the world junior championships in Peru in August in a time of 20.60. But the sprint phenom smashed that time at the All Schools Queensland track and field championships over the weekend, running a scorching heat time of 20.29 secs to move him within sight of Bolt’s record time of 20.13 as a 16-year-old.

The time saw Gout break a multitude of records including a Queensland Open 200m record, Australian U18 and U20 records, plus Oceania U18 and U20 records. It comes after the young Ipswich Grammar School sprint sensation ran another blistering time of 10.31 seconds in the 100m on Saturday. Gout's 200m heat time is also the fastest by an Australian in 31 years.

Gout's run in the final was not quite as quick as his electric heat time but the teen still claimed the title in 20.52 seconds (+1.5 wind). But the 16-year-old's 20.29 in the heats saw him smash the previous Australian Under-20 record of 20.41 set by Aidan Murphy in 2022. It's also the fourth-fastest time for an Australian over 200m of all time, with Peter Norman's 20.06 set way back in 1968 still the national benchmark.

Gout Gout flying after signing first major contract

Only last week, Gout signed his first professional contract with adidas, whose stable also includes Olympic 100m champ Noah Lyles from the United States. Gout was born in Brisbane in 2007 after his parents emigrated from South Sudan and 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 personal best in the 100m is 10.29 secs.

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Eight-time Olympic Games gold medallist Bolt's personal best when he was 16 was 20.13 seconds over 200m, while Gout’s is 20.16 - only 0.03 seconds slower. Gout has admitted the comparisons with Bolt are incredible but wants to blaze his own path and the teenager's coach Diane Sheppard couldn't be more excited about his prospects ahead of the Olympic Games in Los Angeles 2028, followed by a home Games in Brisbane in 2032.

"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'."

Usain Bolt's warning for Aussie teen sprinter Gout Gout

Gout's recent performances have also drawn a word of warning from Jamaican sprint legend Bolt, who opened up on his own rise up the sprinting ranks but cautioned Gout not to expect to keep dominating his competition. "I was 15 when I won the world juniors, I was really young and I was really talented so I didn't have to work as hard as it was just talent, as I was winning and winning," Bolt said.

"I remember when I got to the professional level, and I felt like it was just going to be easy. And I got to the stage where I would go to meets and I would lose. And I was like, 'This is strange, this is new'. So it took me a while to understand."