Running News Daily

16-year-old Aussie sprinter clocks outrageous 100m time

Gout Gout, the young athlete drawing comparisons to Usain Bolt, now holds the Australian U18 100m and 200m records.

Australia’s Gout Gout has left the world speechless once again. At Friday’s Australian All Schools Athletics Championships in Nathan, Australia, the sprinter made a run at the elusive 10-second barrier–at the age of just 16. In heats, he soared to a blazing 10.04 seconds (+3.4 m/s winds), crossing the line more than five tenths of a second ahead of second place. Including all non-legal marks, Gout’s time secured him the number-four spot on the all-time U18 list.

Tailwind speeds exceeding 2.0 m/s are deemed illegal in sprinting, as stronger winds are considered to aid the racers. Wind assistance can impact times by about 0.1 seconds, a substantial difference in the world of sprinting.

In the 100m final at the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre, Gout went on to run a stunning (and wind-legal) 10.17. The time shattered his own personal best of 10.29 and the previous U18 Australian record of 10.27 held by Sebastian Sultana, and still places him sixth on the all-time U18 list.

The high schooler first made headlines when he cruised to a 20.77-second win in the qualifying rounds of the 200m at the World U20 Championships in Lima, Peru, in August. The following day, he clinched the silver medal in the event’s final.

Gout signed a pro contact with Adidas in October, and just a week later, clocked an electrifying 20.29 at the All Schools Queensland track and field championships. The time broke his own U18 national record, along with the 31-year-old U20 national record and the Oceanic record. His time was the fourth-fastest in Australia’s history.

Gout’s race on Friday clip is his second to go viral in the athletics world in four months; many track and field fans began drawing comparisons of his tall stature and running style to those of Jamaican track legend Usain Bolt.