Sprint sensation Gout Gout, Australia’s fastest man over 200m, has lit up the track with a world-leading run during the Queensland Athletics championships on Sunday.
Gout first blitzed the field in the under-20 heats to cross the line in 20.05s for the fastest 200m recorded across the globe in all ages in 2025. The 17-year-old smashed the previous best 20.13s clocked by Zimbabwe’s Makanakaishe Charamba in Texas last month but better was still to come in the final in Brisbane.
The sprint prodigy went on to break the 20-second barrier for the first time in the U20 200m final with a wind-assisted 19.98s. Gout brushed off a false start to set the blistering time that was deemed illegal for a +3.6m/s tailwind but is now the fastest 200m by an Australian in all conditions and the sixth-quickest by an U20 athlete.
“At the bend I thought I can really send it,” Gout said. “I was happy and surprised but I feel a weight off my shoulders.”
Gout demolished the field in the 200m heat with a legal wind of +1.2m/s at his back to finish just 0.01s short of the national record he set at the same venue last December. While Gout was just outside his personal best of 20.04s (+1.5m/s), he again beat the previous Australian record that Peter Norman held for 56 years after running 20.06s at the Mexico City Olympics in 1968.
The Queenslander is moving to within touching distance of Usain Bolt’s fastest 200m time at the same age of 19.93s. Gout, who turned 17 in December, bettered the Jamaican’s personal best 16-year-old time of 20.13s when breaking the national record last year.
“It feels great because I’ve been at that stage watching people like Usain Bolt, getting goosebumps,” Gout said. “For me to give people goosebumps feels great.”
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The year 12 student had already clinched the U20 100m crown after running 10.38s in the state championships final on Saturday. Gout had earlier eased to the line to finish his heat in 10.39s against a slight headwind and ran into a -1.4m/s wind in the final.
Gout has revealed that he is now in the middle of a heavy training block while targeting the Maurie Plant meet on 29 March, as well as the national championships in Western Australia in April. He is among a group of promising Australian sprinters – including Lachie Kennedy, Josh Azzopardi, Jacob Despard, Calab Law and Jack Hale – also eyeing off the $40,000 on offer in the 120m Stawell Gift on Easter Sunday.