Africa-Press – South-Sudan. 17-year-old Australian sensation Gout Gout won the men’s 200 meters title at the Australian Athletic Championship in 19.84 seconds on Sunday, reaching a major milestone on his way to global domination.
That was the second fastest 200m ever recorded by an under-20 sprinter in all conditions – faster than Olympic gold medalists Usain Bolt – and would have secured him a new global record, but for an illegal wind reading of 2.2m per second.
According to advanced biomechanical analysis by Flinders University, Gout’s maximum step-length during the event matched that of Usain Bolt during his 100m world record in the 2009 Berlin World Championships.
Born in Australia after his parents migrated from South Sudan, Gout is the second fastest 200m sprinter under-20 in all conditions; only American Erriyon Knighton, then aged 18, has run faster when he clocked 19.49 at the LSU Invitational in 2022.
But his performances continue to signal a bright future on the track, according to sport analysts.
In a seven-month period since last August, Gout has won silver in the 200m at the World Junior Championships by 20.60 seconds, and broken Peter Norman’s longstanding Australian 200m record in 20.04 seconds.
One of his most recent accolades was when he smashed through the magical 20-second barrier for the 200m, recording a world-leading 19.98 seconds in Brisbane two weeks ago.
“The way he generates and maintains speed challenges some conventional paradigms in sprinting – namely that raw power and muscle mass are the primary determinants of speed,” The Conversation reported.
“With most elite sprinters peaking in their mid-20s, Gout’s performances at this stage of his career are even more noteworthy. His success likely highlights the role of his unique coordination patterns, biomechanics, technical efficiency, hard work and great coaching all bundled together.”
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