IPSWICH teenage sprint sensation Gout Gout has electrified the track once again, breaking the 10-second barrier in the 100m at a GPS school meet last Friday.
The 17-year-old Ipswich Grammar School student clocked a hand-timed 9.94 seconds in the low-key event, stunning onlookers.
While the time won’t enter the official record books due to hand timing – which carries a margin of error of 0.2 to 0.3 seconds – the run is seen as a clear indication of Gout’s blistering form just weeks out from the World Athletics Championships.
“It’s a low-key event, the GPS, but it’s good to get a run in,” Gout’s manager James Templeton told media. “It was a race effort and that’s important in the weeks leading up to Tokyo.”
Officials confirmed the run was completed with a legal headwind, further underlining Gout’s potential to officially crack the 10-second barrier in the near future.
Gout, who will race the 200m – not the 100m – at next month’s World Championships in Tokyo, has already made waves on the international stage.
He won the Under-23 200m at his Diamond League debut in Monaco in July, clocking 20.10 seconds. His Australian record stands at 20.02 seconds, and he also posted a wind-assisted 19.88 at the national championships in April.
In the 100m, his legal personal best remains 10.17 seconds, while he produced a wind-assisted 9.99 at the same national championships.
Only two Australians – Lachlan Kennedy and national record holder Patrick Johnson – have officially gone under 10 seconds.
Gout will face a stacked field in Tokyo on September 13, including Olympic champions Noah Lyles (100m) and Letsile Tebogo (200m).
Looking ahead, the teenage star has a packed 2026 calendar.
The Commonwealth Games in Glasgow next July are expected to feature Gout in the 100m, with the 200m still under consideration as he balances his schedule with the World Junior Championships in Oregon the following month.
