By Australian teenage sprinting sensation Gout Gout recorded the fourth-fastest under-18 100m time in history on Friday, clocking in at 10.04 seconds at the All-Schools Athletics Championships in Queensland.
The run, which came in the heats but was wind-assisted and therefore does not count in official records, was also the fourth-fastest ever by an Australian sprinter of any age.
The fastest ever under-18 time was set by US sprinter Erriyon Knighton in 2021, a wind-assisted 9.99 seconds. His compatriot Jelani Watkins and Thai sprinter Puripol Boonson occupy second and third place, having each run 10.02 in 2021 and 2023, respectively.
Later on Friday, once the tailwind had dropped, Gout ran a legal 10.17 in the final – the sixth-fastest legal under-18 time – to beat his personal best of 10.29 and the previous Australian under-18 record of 10.27 held by Sebastian Sultana.
“I’ve been chasing this national record for a while now! In the heat, I thought I got it, but it was a crazy tailwind, so I just did the same thing and got the job done,” said Gout afterwards, per Athletics Australia.
Gout broke onto the scene in 2022 when he ran the 100m in 10.57s as a 14-year-old. The last two years have seen the Australian, who turns 17 in late December, draw comparisons to sprinting great Usain Bolt.
He garnered even further attention in August when he clocked in at 20.60s in the 200m at the 2024 World Athletics U20 Championships – 0.01 seconds faster than a 15-year-old Bolt managed in 2002, the record at the time. Gout will run in the 200m event on Saturday in Queensland.
With an Adidas sponsorship deal secured and high hopes for what he could go on to achieve, Gout is already mixing with sprinting royalty.
“In January, I’m going overseas to train with Noah Lyles and his coach Lance Brauman. Hopefully, we can qualify for the Tokyo World Championships,” he said after Friday’s final. “If not, I’ll just finish my school in Year 12.”
