Gout Gout has become the first Australian to legally break the 20-second mark over 200m, smashing his own national record in the process.
The 18-year-old ran 19.67 at Sydney Olympic Park to win back-to-back 200m national titles on Sunday.
It is the first time Gout has run sub-20 legally, having clocked 19.84 with an illegal tailwind at last year's national championships in Perth.
The Queenslander blitzed sprint king Usain Bolt's under-20 record of 19.93 and is just 0.02 seconds off the all-time under-20 record set by Erriyon Knighton in 2022.
Gout also smashed his own national record of 20.02, a mark also bettered by runner-up Aidan Murphy (19.88) on Sunday.
"I've been chasing it ever since I got that illegal sub-20," Gout said on Sunday.
"It's been on my mind this whole year and these past couple of months.
"It's a big weight off my shoulder knowing that, you know, I ran it legally, and I have the speed and body to run times like that."
It is just the latest record set by Gout, who broke Peter Norman's 56-year-old Australian 200m mark when he clocked 20.04 seconds in 2024.
Gout's great rival Lachlan Kennedy wasn’t in the 200m field, withdrawing from the event after clocking 9.96 for the second time in as many days to win his first national 100m title on Saturday night.
"I was very itchy (watching Kennedy) for sure, obviously props to Lachie," Gout said.
"He told me it's all me, so I did my thing for sure."
While Kennedy has punched his ticket to the Commonwealth Games, Gout won’t be in Glasgow after choosing to focus instead on the 200m at the world under-20 championships.
"I'm still only 18, just turned 18, so I definitely think I can go faster for sure," Gout said.
