Brisbane, Australia – Eighteen-year-vintage Gout Gout equalled the Australian record for the 100m sprint on Saturday, clocking 10.00 seconds (+0.9) at the Dane Bird-Smith Shield Meet at QSAC. The performance marks Gout’s first competitive 100m race of 2026 and solidifies his position as a rising star in Australian athletics.
Gout’s time matches the national mark previously set by Lachlan Kennedy in Perth in April 2025, according to reports. Both athletes now share the distinction of running the fastest legal 100m on Australian soil. Patrick Johnson remains the fastest Australian sprinter having recorded times of 9.98 seconds in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2005 and 9.93 seconds in Mito, Japan, in 2003.
Beyond equalling the national record, Gout likewise established a new Australian under-20 record in the event, surpassing Jake Doran’s previous mark of 10.15 seconds set in 2018. This achievement automatically qualifies Gout for the upcoming world under-20 championships.
Notably, Gout chose to forgo participation in this year’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, opting instead to concentrate his efforts on the 200m event at the world under-20 championships. Australian Athletics officials have publicly supported this decision, citing the potential for Gout to emulate the early career trajectory of Usain Bolt.
Bolt launched his international career with a 200m gold medal at the 2002 world junior championships, before going on to dominate world sprinting. Gout’s team hopes he can achieve a similar breakthrough in Oregon. A victory in the 200m at the junior championships would represent the first sprint gold medal for an Australian athlete at that level.
Gout first gained international recognition in 2024 when, at the age of 16, he broke Peter Norman’s 56-year-old 200m national record. He continued his ascent in 2025 with a debut appearance at the world championships in Japan, reaching the semi-finals in the 200m.
Following his record-equalling performance, Lachlan Kennedy reportedly sent Gout a congratulatory message, according to reports. The pair are expected to continue to push each other as they compete on the national and international stage.
