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By Hong Duy  April 13, 2026 | 06:34 am PT
Australian star sprinter Gout Gout, 18, has made his mark in the athletics world by clocking a time faster than legendary Usain Bolt achieved at the same age.
Competing at the Australian Athletics Championships on April 11, Gout stormed to first place in the 200m final. His performance of 19.67s officially surpasses the 19.93s mark set by Bolt in 2004 when the Jamaican icon was also 18.
This marks Gout’s first sub-20-second run under legal conditions, after clocking 19.84 seconds with assistance from the wind in the previous season.
His new achievement stands as the fastest time in the world this year and places the young Australian among the top 20 fastest 200m runners in history.
Bolt’s standing world record is 19.19 seconds, set in 2009.
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Australia's Gout Gout celebrates after winning the Men's U23 200m final in the Diamond League, Monaco on July 11, 2025. Photo by Reuters |
Gout’s 19.67 seconds is also being hailed as the new U20 world record, as Erriyon Knighton’s 19.49 seconds from 2022 remains pending formal ratification by World Athletics. Gout admitted the result caught him by surprise.
"I wrote down 19.75 [seconds] and for the past week in my head I’ve been telling myself I’m running 19.75 and obviously – 19.67 – you’ve got to love it," he said, as quoted by The Guardian.
The race in Sydney was far from a dominant run, as Gout faced intense pressure from fellow countryman Aidan Murphy, who followed him deep into the straight.
Murphy finished second with a blistering 19.88 seconds, the second-fastest time in Australian history. This rivalry helped Gout find the extra gear needed to break the record.
Gout first drew global attention by setting a national 16-year-old age group record of 20.06 seconds in 2024. Since last year, he has been the national record holder with 20.02 seconds and a time of 19.84 seconds with wind assistance (2.2 m/s).
"I’ve been chasing it ever since I got that illegal sub-20 [seconds]. It’s been on my mind this whole year and this past couple of months, so, I’m glad I got it," he added.
Since finishing high school late last year, the runner has transitioned to full-time training.
Following his historic run, Gout is expected to skip the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow this July. Instead, he will focus on the U20 World Championships in Oregon in August.
