Gout Gout wins 100 meters at Australian junior track titles but misses national record

Australia Athletics Gout Gout

Gout Gout, right, waves while winning the junior 100-meter race at the Australian Athletics Junior Championship in Brisbane, Saturday, April 18, 2026. (Jono Searle/AAP Image via AP) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Australia Athletics Gout Gout

Gout Gout, right, waves while winning the junior 100-meter race at the Australian Athletics Junior Championship in Brisbane, Saturday, April 18, 2026. (Jono Searle/AAP Image via AP) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Athletics Australia-Gout Gout

FILE -Australia's Gout Gout finishes a men's 200 meters heat at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Sept. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Talented sprinter Gout Gout waved to the crowd over the final few meters on Saturday while winning the Australian junior 100-meter race in 10.21 seconds. He had to recover from a less than perfect start and he was second after 50 meters. But he forced his way through the field Zavier Peacock (10.35) and Uwezo Lubenda (10.37). The 18-year-old Gout missed out on his goal of breaking the 10-second mark. He had earlier cruised into the final with a time of 10.44 seconds in his semifinal, sprinting into a strong headwind at his home track in Brisbane. On Friday, Gout for the 100 final. His weekend times were not quick enough to lower Patrick Johnson’s national open record for the 100 of 9.93, set in Japan in 2003. The win came less than a week after setting an under-20 world record time in the 200 that was faster than best at that age. Last Sunday, Gout ran his 200-meter final at the open national titles in 19.67 seconds, taking 0.02 off Erriyon Knighton's world under-20 mark of 19.69 set at Eugene, Oregon in 2022. Knighton also ran a 19.49 in 2022, which World Athletics says is the fastest time ever by an under-20 athlete despite it not being ratified as a world under-20 record. Gout's time last week placed him above at No. 2 in the all-time under-20 list. It was the first time that Gout had gone under the 20-second mark officially, after a wind-assisted 19.84 last season, and is the leading time in the world this year. Gout previously had the quickest time by a 16-year-old, setting an Australian record of 20.06 in 2024. Last Sunday’s mark in Sydney put him ahead of Bolt’s time of 19.93 in 2004. Bolt was 17 when setting what was then a world junior record and never bettered that time as a teenager. “This is what I’ve been waiting for,” , who was born in Queensland state to parents from South Sudan, said after his 200-meter win. "There’s a big weight off my shoulders knowing I ran it legally, and I have the speed and my body to run times like that. So, it definitely feels great, and ready for more.” Gout’s 200 time in Sydney was met with skepticism from several sprinters, mostly in the U.S., who said the record was achieved under questionable wind conditions. Some said that up to seven runners achieved season-best times in the race — although that often happens in national championships. “There are always going to be haters, if you’ve got haters it means you’re doing something right,” Gout told the Brisbane Times on Friday, referring to the critical comments. “It is what it is, I never take it (to heart), I just keep running, and obviously, it was pretty fast so that’s maybe why they were a bit mad. It motivates me to do it in even bigger races, for sure.” Gout will skip the Commonwealth Games, which begin in Glasgow on July 23. With the win Saturday he qualified for the world under-20 championships in Eugene from Aug. 5-9. Brisbane is hosting the , where Gout is likely to be in his prime as a sprinter and could become the star of the Games. He grew up nearby in Ipswich, where he completed high school late last year. \\_ AP sports: