Gout Gout shatters national record but falls agonisingly short of major athletic feat in blistering sprint

Gout Gout set a brand-new national 100m record on Saturday and came incredibly close to breaking the 10-second barrier.

In fact, the 18-year-old sprinting sensation couldn’t have been closer, running exactly 10 seconds in his success in Queensland.

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Gout won the 100m at the Dane Bird-Smith Shield Meet with that time, breaking a national record in the process.

Jake Doran’s time of 10.15 seconds, which he achieved in 2018, was the previous fastest ever time in the Oceanic region.

Doran held the all-time record at the Australian U20 level.

But that tag now belongs to Gout, who also managed to equal another record alongside breaking one.

He equalled the best legal time by an Australian in their home country, matching Lachlan Kennedy’s feat achieved last April.

The teenager’s 10-second run in Queensland was his first appearance in qualifying for the World Athletics U20 Championships.

Gout had opted not to compete at the Commonwealth Games this year to instead focus on the 200m at the U20 Championships, where he will aim to become the first Australian to win gold.

Speaking after the incredible sprint, his manager, James Templeton, said, via Fox Sports: “It’s a really solid first up run.

“Gout has been going well in training. He’s been feeling good these last weeks.

“There was no pressure on today’s season opener, but he and [coach] Di Sheppard were confident he was ready to run well.”

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Bang on the barrier

All elite sprinters want to break the 10-second barrier in the 100m, with the first ever coming in 1968.

But Gout, who is tipped to become the next Usain Bolt, has never managed to break it legally, doing so twice in one day with wind assistance in Perth last year.

Those runs didn’t officially count, so it leaves him still looking for the achievement of going faster than 10 seconds.

Only two Australians have ever beaten the barrier, with Gout running exactly on it on Saturday.

Patrick Johnson ran a 9.93 in 2003, while Kennedy ran a 9.98 in June.

It means Gout can join a very exclusive group of Aussies if he is to get over the line at under 10 seconds in the future.

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‘A big thing to give up’

As mentioned, Gout is now focusing on the U20 World Championships after opting out of the Commonwealth Games.

The Commonwealth Games will be taking place from July 23 to August 2 this year in Glasgow, Scotland.

He explained earlier this year: “It’s a big thing to give up.

“It’s a great event and it’s one of those big meets where everyone loves, but looking at development is definitely a better decision going forward on the 20s.”

“Are they going to move Comm Games?” his coach, Sheppard, joked when asked if anything could change Gout’s mind. “We want him to be running in his late 20s.

“So, you know, you don’t want to push the boundaries too soon. And just the fact that they’re just so compacted.”