18-yr-old Gout Gout breaks Usain Bolt’s 200m record.

Australian sprint sensation Gout Gout produced a sensational performance on Sunday, winning the national 200m title in a time faster than Usain Bolt achieved at the same age.

The 18-year-old, Gout Gout clocked 19.67 seconds in Sydney, setting a new world U20 record and recording the fastest 200m time globally this year. It was also his first legal run under 20 seconds, after a wind-assisted 19.84 last season.

His time beats Bolt’s 19.93 seconds set in 2004 when the Jamaican was 17 and held the world junior record at the time. Bolt never improved that mark as a teenager before later becoming a multiple world-record holder.

Gout had previously run 20.06 in 2024, the fastest time ever by a 16-year-old, marking his emergence on the global stage.

American sprinter Erriyon Knighton still holds the fastest U20 performance of 19.49 seconds (2022), though it was not ratified as an official world U20 record. His recognised record of 19.69 seconds stood until Gout’s latest breakthrough.

Fellow Australian Aidan Murphy finished second in 19.88 seconds, making it two Australians under 20 seconds in the same race.

“This victory is what I’ve been waiting for,” Gout said.

“We have such incredible athletes in Australia, and I’m able to race these athletes; we push each other to the limits. Two Australians sub-20. I mean, the result is amazing.

“There’s a big weight off my shoulders knowing I ran it legally, and I have the speed and my body to run times like that. So, it definitely feels wonderful and is ready for more.”

Despite his rapid rise, Gout has opted to skip the upcoming Commonwealth Games starting July 23, choosing instead to focus on the World Under-20 Championships in Oregon in August.

Gemili narrowly missed out on more medals, finishing fourth in the 200m at the Rio 2016 Olympics, just 0.003 seconds shy of bronze, before another fourth place at the Doha 2019 World Athletics Championships.

Alongside Zharnel Hughes and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake, he is one of just three British male sprinters to have run under 10 seconds in the 100m and 20 seconds in the 200m, with personal bests of 9.97 seconds and 19.97 seconds respectively.