PERTH, AUSTRALIA: Gout Gout clocked the fastest 200 metres of his young career at the Australian Athletics Championships.
The 17-year-old athlete passed the finish line of the men’s 200-metre final in Perth with an impressive time of 19.84 seconds. However, a strong tailwind was not on his side, making his time ineligible for record books once again.
A wind reading of +2.2 m/s – just over the acceptable limit – meant that this new record wouldn’t count as an official personal best. Still, regardless, it remains the fastest that Gout has ever run under any circumstances.
Previously, Gout also ran the U20 100 metres twice with an exceptional time of 9.99 seconds. Unfortunately, those splints were also not counted officially due to strong winds.
With these conditions, Gout expressed: “It’s definitely frustrating when it’s (wind) not on my side, but hopefully one day the wind will be great.”
A social media post by World Athletics stated: “Look at Gout FLY 😱 17-year-old @gout.goutt blazes to 19.84 (+2.2) to win the senior men’s 200m at the Australian Athletics Championships 😤”
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Netizens commented on the post: “For his age, it’s quite an impressive time — he has the potential to break Bolt’s record in the future.”
“To put this time in perspective, if Gout is running about 10 metres per second and the world record is 19.19, he would have finished about 6 meters behind Bolt in that world record race. Not bad at this stage of his career!”
“All I can say is when he gets his starts sorted, he will beat the WR (world record) over the next 4 to 6 years. Never thought I’d say that, but (Gout’s) top speed is insane.”
Gout’s current personal best
This event was the second time Gout had finished a wind-assisted 200m time in under 20 seconds. Last month, he ran 19.98 seconds with a +3.6 m/s win at the Queensland Athletics Championships in Brisbane.
For a time to be considered a personal best, the wind reading must be 2.0 m/s or below.
Gout’s official 200-metre personal best remains at 20.04 seconds, which he set last December when he broke the 56-year-old national record of Peter Norman.
Kennedy got disqualified
The most anticipated rematch between Gout Gout and Lachlan Kennedy never happened at the WA Athletics Stadium because Kennedy got disqualified for a false start.
Recently, at the Maurie Plant Meet in Melbourne, Kennedy narrowly defeated Gout with a time of 20.26 seconds to 20.30 seconds.
With this, Gout admitted: “Stuff like that happens, and unfortunately, he false-started, but it is what it is.”
Regardless of what happened, Kennedy showed sportsmanship by congratulating Gout at the finish line. He said: “Just the camaraderie we have among all the sprinters is definitely great, and that will continue to be even greater for sure.”