How the athletics world lost it over Gout Gout’s latest stunning run – after his team kept the race shrouded in secrecy
Gout Gout’s incredible secret performance last Saturday has the sporting world in awe of the Aussie teenager.
A small group of spectators watched Gout run the 100m in 10 seconds flat at the Dane Bird-Smith Shield Meet in Queensland on Saturday.
It’s the fastest time ever by an Australian aged under 20 and the equal-fastest legal run by an Aussie man on home soil.
The 18-year-old’s run has stunned sporting enthusiasts across the world – but it’s also gained interest from a rival competitor and his team.
One of the first messages Gout’s manager James Templeton received after the performance was from Lance Baumann, the coach of reigning Olympic 100m champion Noah Lyles.
‘Lance messaged me to say the boy is coming, but no surprises there,’ Templeton told Nine Newspapers.
‘I’ve been on the phone constantly since he ran. Guys from the US, all around the world, have been ringing and messaging.’
Gout Gout (pictured) has stunned sporting fans across the world by running the 100m sprint in 10 seconds flat on Saturday
The Aussie teen (pictured) was praised by the coach of Olympic 100m champion Noah Lyles after his eye-opening effort
Breaking the magical 10-second mark now appears a matter of when, not if, for Gout.
With his time on Saturday, Gout sealed his first qualifying performance for this year’s world under-20 championships in Eugene, Oregon.
Gout’s new time matches the mark for a local on home soil set by Lachlan Kennedy in Perth in April 2025.
Kennedy and Patrick Johnson also ran legal 9.98 and 9.93 seconds for the 100m in Nairobi (Kenya) and Mito (Japan) in 2025 and 2003 respectively, and they are the only two Australians to legally break the 10-second mark.
On Saturday, Gout also set an Australian under-20 record, eclipsing the 10.15 mark set by Jake Doran in 2018.
Doran commented on Australian Athletics’ Instagram post about Gout’s feat, saying: ‘It was only a matter of time! Proud it took someone of Gout’s calibre to eclipse my mark!’
The 18-year-old opted not to compete at this year’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, choosing instead to focus on the 200m at the world under-20 championships.
Gout wants to emulate the legendary Usain Bolt at the junior titles in Oregon and Australian Athletics supported his decision.
The sprint sensation (pictured) has decided not to compete at this year’s Commonwealth Games so he can focus on the world under-20 championships
The 18-year-old (pictured with F1 star Oscar Piastri) is tipped to become an Olympic champion
Before going on to dominate world sprinting and rewrite the record books, Bolt kicked off his career with 200m gold at the 2002 world juniors.
If he triumphs in his pet event, Gout would also become the first Australian to win a 200m gold medal at the junior world championships.
It would be Gout’s biggest accolade yet since the teenager burst onto the global athletics scene less than two years ago.
The teenager from Ipswich used to be a keen soccer player in his younger years, but focused on sprinting as he grew up.
