Teenage sprint sensation Gout Gout has won the 100m title at the Australian athletics junior championships in Brisbane, crossing the line in 10.21 seconds with a legal tailwind of +0.5m/s. The 18-year-old eased up and waved to the crowd before finishing ahead of Zavier Peacock (10.35) and Queenslander Uwezo Lubenda (10.37).
Gout admitted his start was not perfect but said he aimed to put on a show. “I didn’t have the best start, but I came out for the W [win], and I wanted to put on a show for the rest of the people watching,” he said. “The more of a show there is, the more people that are going to come and watch. The more people there are, the more pressure. The more pressure, the faster you run.”
The victory was his second consecutive under-20 100m national crown. He qualified fastest through the heats on Friday with 10.19, then cruised through the semi-finals in 10.45 into a strong headwind.
Gout will now head overseas for his first senior campaign, including a Diamond League clash with Olympic 200m champion Letsile Tebogo in Oslo in June. Before that, he will train with Noah Lyles, the reigning Olympic 100m champion and four-time world 200m champion, before a 150m duel at the Ostrava Golden Spike on 16 June.
“It definitely means a lot, knowing I can go up against the Olympic champion, world champion, multi-time world champion,” Gout said. “I will definitely up my game, for sure, versing the best guy in the world right now.”
The Queenslander has a personal best of 10.00 over 100m, set in February, and is chasing Patrick Johnson’s national record of 9.93, which has stood since 2003. He will skip the Commonwealth Games to focus on the 200m at the World Junior Championships in Oregon in August, with a decision on adding the 100m to come later.
