Gout Gout became the first Australian teenager to run the 200 metres in under 20 seconds. He clocked a wind-assisted 19.84 at the Australian Athletics Championships in Perth on 13 April 2025.
False starts, then a burst of speed
The final did not start cleanly. Two runners jumped early, and main rival Lachlan Kennedy — who had beaten Gout in Melbourne two weeks before — was one of them. Gout stayed calm while the field reset.
When the gun fired, the 17-year-old drove from the blocks and let his top speed take over. He pulled clear on the bend and ran home with a tailwind of +2.2 m/s, well ahead of the rest.
A time among the fastest ever run by a teenager
The mark ranks as the second fastest 200 metres ever run by an athlete under 20 in any conditions. Only Justin Gatlin’s 19.86 from 2001 stands ahead, with Usain Bolt’s 19.93 now one slot back. Two days earlier, Gout had also won the 100 metres in 9.99 seconds.
The speed was not new. At 16 he ran 20.04 in December 2024, beating Peter Norman’s Australian and Oceanian record of 20.06 that had stood since the 1968 Mexico City Olympics.
“Feels really good, that’s what I’ve been chasing,” he told reporters afterwards. “Top speed is my gift. I used it, took off and I got sub 20, so I couldn’t be happier.”
World Athletics President Sebastian Coe had called him a rare and precious talent. He also warned that the road from teenage promise to senior success is a long one.
