Gout Gout blows world away with record run in Golden Spike
It has been an extraordinary night for Australian athletics with Gout Gout’s history making run stealing the show.
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Gout Gout has set a new Australian record as he blew the world away with a dazzling run at the Golden Spike meet on Wednesday morning.
The 17-year-old Aussie improved his 200m personal best to 20.02 seconds with a convincing win in the 200m at the prestigious event in the Czech Republic.
The Queensland high school student had previously run a wind-assisted 19.84 second time in April, but his run in Ostrava will go into the record books.
Coming up against a quality field that included multiple runners that had gone under 20 seconds in the event, Gout Gout needed to come from behind before storming away from Cuba’s Reynier Mena. He ended up smashing the field to win by a comfortable 0.17 seconds.
You can watch the thrilling run in the video player above.
It was an incredible way to make his professional overseas debut with so much expectation resting on his shoulders.
“I don’t feel any pressure,” he said after the run.
“Because as soon as I step out on that track, it’s just me by myself and what I’ve got to do —my favourite thing, and that’s to run.
“So, I just go out there and run and nothing stops me from doing that.”
According to Athletics Australia, Gout’s record run came at the same venue where Usain Bolt made his European debut as a 17-year-old.
His new personal best is the sixth quickest time ever run by an U20s runner.
It was an extraordinary event for Australian athletes with Peter Bol winning the 800m, finishing just 0.01 seconds short of his personal best.
Ten minutes after Gout’s run, Cameron Myers also broke his own U20s record with an impressive run to finish fourth in the 1500m.
Elsewhere, Nicola Olyslagers won the women’s high jump at the Brnenska Latka Olympia meet.
Originally published as Gout Gout blows world away with record run in Golden Spike
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