The rematch everyone had been eagerly waiting for ended before it even started, but what came next shocked everyone. Gout Gout, the 17-year-old track sensation, once again reminded everyone that he was worth every ounce of his hype. And his destination for this? The Australian Athletics Championships in Perth. Once the starting gun blasted, he stormed through the national 200m title in a wind-aided 19.84, a time faster than Usain Bolt’s at the same age. The victory was monumental, but it wasn’t just about the speed. So what was it about?

Well, it was about the fire Gout carried after a tough loss to Lachlan Kennedy just weeks before. Kennedy, who had shocked Gout at the Maurie Plant Meet, was expected to provide the competition of the day. But fate had other plans. But you will be surprised to know that even before the race started, disaster struck for Kennedy. So what went down? He was disqualified for a false start due to early movement on the blocks, an automatic disqualification.

But just as the crowd started to breathe again, another false start caused more tension. Fortunately, the second false start only resulted in a green card warning, and the race finally went off without another hitch. But once all these nerve-wracking delays ended, Gout took no time and won the race. Now, while his 19.84 wasn’t eligible for a record due to the wind, it still put him alongside sprinting legends like Usain Bolt and Justin Gatlin on the under-20 all-conditions list.

But it wasn’t just the record that caught everyone’s attention. No, it was the moment that came right after. Despite being disqualified, Kennedy walked over to Gout, and the two shared a heartfelt hug, not once, not twice, but three times. The crowd erupted as they shared a moment of pure respect. “This is what Australian athletics is all about,” commentator Mitch Dyer said.

“Don’t try and build a rivalry that doesn’t exist in terms of animosity — these guys love each other. Geez, they want to get the best out of each other. But the gauntlet’s been put down, hasn’t it?” Yet as Gout and Kennedy stood there, arms around each other, it was clear this rivalry had more than just competition—it had camaraderie. But remember the last time when Lachlan Kennedy defeated him?

The day Kennedy took down the teen sprint star Gout Gout

A few days before Gout lit up the track, it was Lachlan Kennedy’s moment in Perth, and man, did he deliver. The 21-year-old from Brisbane flew through his 100m heat in 10.00 flat, making it the second-fastest legal time ever by an Aussie. The only one faster? Patrick Johnson’s 9.93 way back in 2003, with a legal +1.8 wind. Kennedy came with just a +0.9 breeze, and the wild part?

He didn’t even dip at the finish. “I was staring at the clock with like 30 meters to go and I was like, ‘Shit, I might get this,’” he said. “I think with a dip it could’ve been nine [seconds], but I’ve got two more races to do that.” And the timing couldn’t have been better. Just the night before, 17-year-old Gout Gout dropped jaws by running 9.99 seconds twice in the U20 100m.

But both came with illegal tailwinds, so they don’t count in the record books. Kennedy’s 10.00? All legal. So naturally, the rivalry ramped up. “The race for a legal 19 [in the 200m] and the race for a legal nine [in the 100m], it’s so on,” Kennedy said with a grin. Asked how it’d feel if he beats Gout to the sub-10 milestone? “There’ll be a bit of chirping, for sure. It’s all good fun.”

These two have been trading blows like it’s a sprinting slugfest. At the Maurie Plant Meet in Melbourne, Kennedy caught everyone off guard and edged out Gout in the 200m by just 0.04 seconds. Gout definitely didn’t forget—he came back swinging in Perth and served up some serious revenge. Now that it’s one apiece, the question is: who’s landing the next punch? Because if this rivalry’s just getting started, we’re in for a wild ride.