“Gout of this world!” This is the caption that World Athletics went with when Australian sprinter Gout Gout broke Usain Bolt’s record for the fastest time in the 200 meters by a 16-year-old in December. Then, in February, just days after warning Olympic gold medalist Noah Lyles that “I am coming for that spot,” Gout smashed Lyles’ personal best in 400m, clocking 46.20s, just almost a second under the American’s time. As such, comparisons with Lyles and especially Bolt have been made, but Gout, while acknowledging them as “pretty cool,” wants to remain in his own lane and is trying to be “the next Gout.” However, with records tumbling almost every time he steps on the track, people will continue to draw parallels as he rises up the ranks, untouched in Australia. But there is a problem.

Earlier this month, competing at the Queensland Athletics Championships, he clinched the U20 200 m crown in a wind-assisted 19.98 seconds –the first sub-20 run in Australian sprint history. It is clear that he is well ahead of his contemporaries at his age, and it only bodes well for his future. However, Justin Gaitlin is throwing some caution to the wind.

Speaking on his Ready Set Go podcast on Tuesday, Gaitlin discussed Gout’s dominance with Rodney Green. Rodney, while praising Gout’s performance in the 200 m at the Queensland Athletics Championships, contemplated whether Gout even has enough competition. “The competition is not even, you know, no disrespect to this competition because they are youth athletes like him, but he beat those kids by two seconds, bro. Two seconds! And in the 200, two seconds looks like a whole century.” Gaitlin agreed and chimed in with his own observation.

“They weren’t even in the screen when the TV was panning… He was watching himself pull away from the field. He was just in the screen by himself. He’s on a different level than those kids, that’s all it is, man.” Gout’s dominance was evident in Brisbane. He clocked 10.39 seconds in the 100 m heat and 10.38 in the finals. But his real show came in the 200m.

His legal 20.05-second heat time stands as the fastest 200m recorded this year, and when he came out on top in the finals with 19.98 seconds, nobody was close to him. Zaine Leigh finished second with 22.10s, and Liam Atkinson was third with 22.12. As Gaitlin mentioned, Gout was well clear in the final picture. While this highlights how good he is, it also raises a concern over a perceived lack of competition and how Gout copes when he steps to a bigger stage.

“Where do you go from here as Gout Gout?” Gaitlin questioned. “You’re annihilating the competition throughout your whole country, by far, like you said, by two seconds or more. So, what do you do now? Do you put him on a more international schedule where he can race other athletes of his caliber and be in that season to compete against them? You know what I’m saying? Or do you just let him be the king of his own domain until he’s thrust into the moment where he has to go pro and enter that cycle of racing top athletes?” Running solo while everyone else is trying to catch up paints a bigger picture that Gout Gout might be levels ahead of his competition at this point in his country.

But without facing stronger challenges, this young athlete risks stagnating, unable to fully develop the edge needed to dominate on the world stage, where competition is waiting for him. Just hours before his feat in Queensland, another teenager was making his mark in another part of the world.

At the AGN Championships in Pretoria, South Africa, the native Bayanda Walaza registered the fastest 100m time in the world this year, clocking 9.99 seconds to win the Gauteng North Provincial championships. Walaza has had a strong start to the season and is someone to watch out for. Notably, it was Walaza who edged out Gout Gout to claim the 200m title at the U20 championships last year.

Right now, Gout is the second-fastest under-18 200m runner in history behind America’s Erriyon Knighton. Having just turned 17, the Australian still has two years to make his mark in this age group, but he might need tougher competition than what he is facing right now.

Gaitlin pointed out, “It’s not even close. The competition is not even close. He doesn’t even have one guy thinking, ‘Yeah, he might get me in the 100 if I don’t do this right.’ He could do it wrong and still go out there and annihilate the competition.”

But while being the king of his domain feels good, staying in that comfort zone might not prepare him for the challenges that lie ahead. Until Gout starts racing against top-tier international athletes, he risks plateauing. There is good competition in the Australian track and field scene when Gout decides to take up the senior challenge.

He will compete in the senior 200m race at the Maurie Plant meet on 29 March, as well as at the national championships in Perth in early April, which will give him crucial experience. However, he will sit out the race for the senior Australian 100m title in Perth, meaning a showdown with the likes of fellow Queenslander Lachlan Kennedy, who stunned with a time of 10.03 seconds at the Perth Track Classic earlier this month, won’t be possible. Other sprint stars such as Josh Azzopardi, Jacob Despard, Calab Law and Jack Hale also await Gout, possibly at the Stawell Gift in late April.

With the Tokyo World Athletics Championship in sight, Gout will have the chance to prove himself, but the question is, will he be ready?

The world watches as Gout Gout prepares for the big leagues

Gout has the athletic world buzzing, and for good reason. Back in December, the 17-year-old sprinting prodigy broke Peter Norman’s 56-year-old Australian 200m record of 20.06 seconds, as he reached the finish line in 20.04. And guess what? He didn’t stop there. Since then, this rising star has beaten Norman’s time twice more.

He first clocked 20.05 in the 200m heat at the Queensland Athletics Championships this month, and then 19.98 in the final. Sure, that 19.98 didn’t make it into the record books because of a tailwind that was a little too generous, but it was enough to show the world that Gout is the real deal. Now, with his eyes set on the biggest stages, the young star is already dreaming about the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

But that’s not all. A hometown showdown at the 2032 Brisbane Olympics is also in his books. As Gout put it, “I just want to show the world that I’m Gout and that I’m here to stay, and the Olympics is the best place to do that.” The performance data from this athlete demonstrates the reality behind his spoken statements.

He scored his fastest time of 10.17 seconds in 100m racing at the Australian All-Schools Championships in Brisbane in December 2024. He has continued his amazing performance trail, which proves he is not a one-hit wonder in track events. He will make his senior-class debut at the upcoming Maurie Plant Meeting in Melbourne on Saturday, 29 March, as the main competitive attraction. 

And if that’s not enough, Gout’s also expected to be a top contender for the 100m and 200m titles at the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo. With that kind of momentum, this athlete isn’t just Australia’s next big thing — he’s on track to become a global sprinting phenomenon.