‘Extraordinary’ Gout Gout breaks magical 10-second mark twice

Teen sensation Gout Gout has cracked the magical 10-second mark twice in claiming a 100m title at the Australian Championships.

Teenage phenomenon Gout Gout has backed up his stunning heat run by breaking 10 seconds again in his 100m final in the under-20 race at the Australian Athletics Championships in Perth.

Just under two weeks since the 17-year-old’s shock 200m loss to fellow emerging star Lachlan Kennedy at the Maurie Plant meet in Melbourne, Gout has bounced back with a sensational performance in the junior category that the athletics world will notice.

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After running a wind-assisted 9.99 seconds in his earlier heat, expectations were high Gout could do something even more special in the final.

In another wind-assisted run, meaning it won’t officially count in the record books, Gout missed the start again but it didn't matter as he ran the exact same time.

“The eyes of the world are on him,” Bruce McAvaney said on 7plus.

Watch Gout Gout’s 100m final in the video player above

Gout Gout ran the incredible time twice, including in the final. Photo: Channel 7

Gout poses with fans after his effort in the final. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

“He didn’t get the start but he starts to stretch away and he’s done it, he’s broken the 10 seconds again!

“The wind is too big again, but the time is there. He didn’t get the start but he rolled along and twice in three hours, he’s gone inside 10 seconds.

“He’s a young genius. When the wind is his friend, we know what’s coming.”

Speaking after the run, a humble Gout said: “That’s what I was hoping for. I didn’t get the start, but I powered through and saw the clock. Can’t be happier with that.

“At this moment I’ll let it sink in, focus on my training.”

The performances are yet more reminders of Gout’s remarkable talent on the track as he went under the magical 10-second barrier in both races for the first time.

“Isn’t he beautiful to watch?” McAvaney said during Gout’s heat. “He did switch off. Boy oh boy oh boy, look at this!

“It is legal? The wind reading we’re about to get.

Gout Gout surges to victory in the under-20 100m final. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

“He switched off, did not dip and has run something extraordinary.

“It’s wind-affected, he’s run 9.99. He’s produced something for the ages.”

McAvaney later called Gout’s heat run an “outrageous performance”.

Patrick Johnson remains the only Australian to record an official time under 10 seconds for the 100m, with his 9.93 seconds in Japan back in 2003 still the standbearer for the country’s male sprinters.

But it seems it’s well within Gout’s reach as the budding superstar progresses in his young career.

Gout, who already holds the Australian under-16 and under-18 records, would have had his sights on Jake Doran’s under-20 mark of 10.15 seconds set back in 2018.

Gout reacts after winning his 100m heat. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

But it wasn’t to be, with the Perth weather ruining his shot at further records, at least for now.

Gout’s official personal best for the blue ribbon sprint race is the 10.17 seconds he set at the All Schools Championship in December, while the Queenslander also recorded a wind-assisted 10.04s in the heats at the same competition.

Gout and Kennedy – who last month claimed Australia’s first 60m World Indoor Championships medal with silver – won’t be facing off in Perth.

After his remarkable effort in the under-20 category for the 100m, Gout will contest the open 200m on Sunday, while Kennedy will take part in the open 100m heats and final on Friday and Saturday respectively.