Queensland sprinter Gout Gout has cemented his status as a future superstar of athletics by breaking the Australian under-18 men’s 200m record on Saturday afternoon.
The teenage prodigy, who only turned 15 in December, clocked 20.87 second in the under-18 men’s 200m final at the Australian Junior Athletics Championships in Brisbane.
Despite bring considerably younger than his rivals and running into a slight headwind, Gout bettered the previous record by 0.03 seconds, which was jointly held by Darren Clark, Paul Greene and Zane Branco.
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“It means a lot because I‘ve been training so much for this,” Gout said after the triumph.
“I was really nervous. The gun went, and I was good and I just kept pushing.
“It’s like you can’t feel any ground contact, it feels like you are floating.
“This season has been mind blowing for me. Last year I came fourth and sixth at nationals, and then I came out at All Schools and won. I was really motivated because I took last year personally, it always feels better when you are winning.”
Gout, whose parents migrated to Australia from South Sudan two years before he was born, already holds the national men’s under-16 records for the 100m and 200m.
He will compete in the men’s under-18 100m final on Sunday afternoon.
