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Eighteen-year-old Australian Gout Gout ran 200m faster than sprinting great Usain Bolt managed by the same age as he raced to a national title on Sunday.<\/b><\/p>\n
The teenager clocked a superb time of 19.67 seconds to set a world under-20 record.<\/p>\n
It was the first time that Gout had gone under the 20-second mark legally, after a wind-assisted 19.84 last season, and is the leading time in the world this year.<\/p>\n
Gout previously had the quickest-ever time by a 16-year-old, setting a national record of 20.06 when he burst on to the scene in 2024.<\/p>\n
Sunday’s mark in Sydney put him ahead of Jamaican eight-time Olympic champion Bolt’s time of 19.93 back in 2004.<\/p>\n
Bolt was aged 17 when setting what was then a world junior record and never bettered that time as a teenager, before setting a string of senior world records later in his career.<\/p>\n
United States sprinter Erriyon Knighton’s 19.49 run in 2022 remains the fastest time by an U20 athlete, though it was not ratified as a world U20 record.<\/p>\n
Knighton was nevertheless the holder of the U20 record with an official time of 19.69, set in June 2022, until Gout went quicker.<\/p>\n
Aidan Murphy, who was second to Gout on Sunday, also beat the 20-second mark with a time of 19.88.<\/p>\n
“This is what I’ve been waiting for,” said Gout, who was born in Queensland to parents from South Sudan.<\/p>\n
“We have such incredible athletes in Australia and me being able to race these athletes, we push each other to the limits. Two Australians sub-20. I mean, this is amazing.<\/p>\n
“There’s a big weight off my shoulders knowing I ran it legally, and I have the speed and my body to run times like that. So, it definitely feels great, and ready for more.”<\/p>\n
Gout has indicated that he will skip the Commonwealth Games, which begin in Glasgow on 23 July, to focus on the World Under-20 Championships in Oregon in early August.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n