At just 17 years old, Australian sprinting sensation Gout Gout is sending ripples through the world of athletics as he sets his eyes on the ultimate prize. “Faster than Usain Bolt.” Few phrases carry as much weight in sprinting. Yet, Gout Gout is making it a reality, at least at this age.
Gout’s meteoric rise reached new heights recently when he clocked an astonishing 200m dash in 20.06 seconds, breaking the Oceanian under-18 record and surpassing Bolt’s own time of 20.13 seconds at the same age.
In April, Gout delivered a record-breaking performance at home, sprinting to 19.84 seconds (+2.2m/s wind) in the 200m — obliterating the long-standing Australian national record of 20.06 set by Peter Norman in 1968. Norman’s time had famously secured him a silver medal at the 1968 Mexico Olympics, a feat no other Australian sprinter has matched since.
Speaking to Fox Sports Australia’s Back Page, Gout made his intentions clear.
“I think the limit is just obviously winning Olympics and world championships and honestly dominating like Bolt did. So I think that’s a limit, a reachable one for me.”
Learning from the Best
Earlier this year, Gout took his ambitions global, travelling to Clermont, Florida for a special training stint alongside Noah Lyles, the current Olympic and world champion. Thanks to Adidas, the teenage star got the chance to train with one of the sport’s finest, soaking up valuable lessons on both technique and mentality.
Shortly after returning to Australia, Gout delivered a blistering 46.20 seconds in the 400m at the Joanna Stone Shield in Brisbane — a time notably faster than Lyles’ own best 400m effort as a teenager (47.04 in 2016).
According to his manager, James Templeton, the Florida training camp was a turning point.
“Training was great in Florida, and we’re confident he’s kicked on further. Gout is really looking forward to every meet — and as always, he’s looking to run faster than before,” Templeton told The Guardian.
Wisdom from a Champion
On the Beyond The Records podcast, Gout shared advice he received from Lyles — the kind of wisdom young athletes rarely get firsthand.
“Everybody’s going to have their opinion. When you become somebody of a high standard, everybody’s going to have opinions — good or bad — and they’ll have their preconceived notions,” Lyles told him.
For a teenager carrying the hopes of a nation and the weight of comparisons to the greatest sprinter of all time, those words resonate deeply.
Chasing History
Gout has already proven he’s unafraid of the spotlight. In a 7 News Spotlight documentary released in March, he stated:
“I think I’m prepared to take the country’s weight on my shoulders. Whatever pressure hits me, I know I can overcome it.”
As the sprinting world watches closely, one thing is clear: Gout Gout isn’t just another fast teenager. He’s a generational talent on a mission. The records he’s breaking now are just the beginning — and if his trajectory continues, Bolt’s legacy might one day have a worthy challenger.
