The teenage sprint sensation is now faster than Usain Bolt over 200m at the age of 18.
Gout is no stranger to the headlines. The young Aussie may still be in the junior ranks, but in the few years he’s been competing professionally, he’s caught the world’s attention.
After being spotted by the athletics coaches at Ipswich Grammar School – located just 40 km south-west of Brisbane, the host city for the 2032 Olympic Games. At the age of 12, Gout set a number of teenage records.
A silver medalist at the 2024 World Under-20 Athletics Championships in Lima, Gaut bettered Peter Norman’s Australian 200m record of 20.06, set at the 1968 Olympics, with a 20.05 at last year’s Queensland championships.
He then clocked a wind-aided 19.84 (2.2) in the 200m final at the Australian Athletics Championships to claim his first national title in Perth. Gaut also recorded his first two 100m times under 10 seconds that weekend (both 9.99) to secure the double.
Over the summer he improved his Australian 200m record to 20.02 before making his senior world championships debut in Tokyo, where he progressed through his world 200m but failed to reach the final. It was a valuable experience for the teenager, and he was philosophical about competing at Japan’s national stadium.
“I’m going to take it all,” he told the world media after running 20.36 in his semi-final. “The most important thing for me is that I know I can compete at a young age and I’m up against the best athletes in the world. I will use all this as fuel for the fire.”
The pressure, hype and anticipation have followed the sprinter through the years. There was such a buzz around Gout in Tokyo that more than three million Australians watched his heats and semi-finals.
Gaut has also had to bear the burden of being compared to Usain Bolt, whose running style, speed and mechanics are tied with the 100m and 200m world record holders.
Expectations were therefore high ahead of this outdoor season, especially after the youngster ran an Australian under-20 100m record of 10.00 in Brisbane on February 21.
Gaut has yet to break the 20-second barrier for the 200m, but the closest he’s come is his 20.02 from last year’s Golden Spike meet in Ostrava.
That was until this weekend’s Australian Athletics Championships, when Gauth set an under-20 world record of 19.76 to retain his senior 200m title in Sydney.
Not only did he break Errion Knighton’s certified junior mark of 19.69 set at the 2022 USATF Outdoor Championships, but he also went faster than Bolt in the under-20 category.
Bolt, who won the world junior 200m title on home soil in 2002, clocked 19.93 at the 2004 Carifta Games in Bermuda, which created headlines around the world.
Gaut, who knew that faster than Bolt’s junior time would attract more comparisons, was focused on himself, however, after his 200m run.
“There’s a lot of weight off my shoulders knowing I drove it legally,” Gautt said. “I have the speed and the body to run those kinds of times. So it’s definitely great and I’m ready for more.
“I wrote 19.75 seconds and for the last week in my head I’ve been telling myself I’m running 19.75 and obviously 19.67, you’ve got to love it.”
Incredibly, Gaut failed in his own way in the Australian 200m final.
In a race where the top seven all posted personal bests, including a top five that beat theirs by 0.20 or more, Aidan Murphy also broke the 20-second barrier. The 2022 Oceania 200m champion improved his time from 20.41 to 19.88 to finish second behind Gut.
Murphy and Gout were actually neck and neck for about 150m, but Gout’s top speed was once again too strong and he came away with the win. Within seconds, the 18-year-old hugged his manager James Templeton and later celebrated with his trainer Dee Shepard.
The couple has helped nurture and protect Gout by creating an environment based on authenticity, resilience and principles. With any amazing young talent, there’s always the risk that they might burn out, so they’ve done their best to gradually phase his progress.
At last year’s Diamond League in Monaco, Gaut had a personal best that will see him into a main race featuring Noah Lyles and Letsile Tebogo. However, both Shepard and Templeton wanted Gaut’s greatest memory from Monaco to be the Diamond League experience. So they entered him in the under-23 race, which he won in 20.10 before Gout went back to school in Australia.
That’s what makes Gout’s 19.76 so special. His endurance and, most importantly, his patience, has led to this moment. If a teenager can go from 20.02 to 19.76 in just one run, what can he do over the next two years?
Her summer plans include skipping the Commonwealth Games to compete in this year’s World Under-20 Athletics Championships in Oregon. With the Hayward Field track being one of the fastest in the world, there’s every chance Gout will go even faster. In what is still a relatively fledgling career, he is taking things in his stride, both on and off the track.
