Teenage sprint sensation Gout Gout has once again electrified the athletics world, clocking a breathtaking 9.99 seconds in both his under-20 100m heat and final at the Australian Athletics Championships.
However on both occasions he was aided by a wind too gusty to be legal.
Gout tore down the track in Sydney, first equaling his personal best of 9.99 in the heats with a tailwind of +2.6 meters per second, well above World Athletics’ legal limit of +2.0.
The Ipswich prodigy then replicated the feat in the final, once again stopping the clock at 9.99, this time with a marginally lower +2.6 wind assistance.
Despite the wind controversy, Gout’s performance places him in rarefied air. He now shares the top spot on the all-time under-18 “all conditions” list, matching American sprint star Erriyon Knighton’s 9.99 set in 2021—also wind-aided +2.7.
“It’s frustrating,” Gout admitted post-race.
“But you can’t control what you can’t control, and the wind is obviously something you can’t control. You’ve just got to learn to run with it or run against it.”
His initial reaction to seeing the clock was pure elation, arms raised, chest thumping, roaring in triumph. But reality soon set in as the wind reading flashed on the screen.
“I saw the clock, I saw it was another sub-10, I was happy, national champion,” he said.
Only one Australian has legally broken 10 seconds: Patrick Johnson ran 9.93 with +1.8 wind in Japan, 2003. Gout’s performances, while extraordinary, leave fans eagerly awaiting a fully ratified sub-10 sprint.
The young star now turns his attention to the open 200m division, where he will face tougher competition. His heat is scheduled for 12:45 PM (Perth time) on Sunday, with the final set for 3:00 PM.
