Getty Image / Cameron Spencer
Australian sprinter Gout Gout, who turned 18 years old back in January, just ran the fastest 200-meter time every by a teenager and set a new world record in the process. After crossing the finish line in a time of 19.67 seconds at the Australian Championships in Sydney, Gout Gout also beat the fastest U20 time Usain Bolt ever ran, 19.93 seconds, by 0.26 seconds.
The comparison between Usain Bolt and Gout Gout have existed for years as this prodigious sprinter smashes records but with each passing race he appears to be a step ahead of where Usain Bolt was at his age.
Gout Gout Sets U20 200 Meter World Record, How Does He Compare To Usain Bolt?
First up, let’s watch the race. His world record in the 200-meter came on Sunday at the Australian Championships. His time of 19.67 seconds is the fastest 200M ever ran by a teenager though Erriyon Knighton has an unratified time that is faster, but Knighton is serving a doping ban and Gout Gout’s time will be set as the U-20 world record.
Prior to this race, Gout Gout said in an on-track interview he was going to run 19.75 seconds but ended up beating that with a time of 19.67 seconds. The previous U20 200M world record was set by American Erriyon Knighton with a time of 19.69 seconds back in 2022, before Knighton’s doping ban.
It is worth noting how much speed is on this track and how Gout Gout didn’t leave every other runner out there in the dust. These are some fast teenagers:
He was absolutely FLYING on that track and the future is VERY bright for the Australian sprinter.
‘Comparison Is The Thief Of Joy,’ Or Is It?
President Teddy Roosevelt is the man often attributed to the quote above. Comparison can rob us of relishing in our accomplishments.
I was talking about this at length with a friend last night and that quote came to mind while seeing the Gout Gout news and then taking note of how every outlet seems to compare him to Usain Bolt at every step of his career. Which, for the time being, is working out in Gout Gout’s favor.
At 18-years-old, Usain Bolt’s fastest 200M time was 19.93 seconds which he set at 17 in Bermuda. Gout Gout is 0.26 seconds faster than Bolt was as a teenager which in sprinting is a wide margin.
However, Gout Gout’s second-fastest time is 20.02 while Bolt’s second fastest time at Gout’s age is 19.99 seconds. Their third fastest times compared are 20.04 vs 20.03. So they really are step and step at this moment with Gout gout holding the edge.
When Usain Bolt set the 200M world record he was 22 years old and ran a time of 19.19. Sprinters typically peak around age 23 and with the Los Angeles Olympics coming up, it is conceivable that Gout Gout will be just before his peak at LA and and mid-peak during the 2032 Summer Olympics in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia where he will be running on his home soil.
Following the race, Gout Gout was asked about finally breaking the 20-second mark. He said “this is what I’ve been waiting for” and then discussed how he’d gone out with the plan to break 20 seconds.
As things stand across the world, American sprinter Noah Lyles won the 200 meter at the 2025 World Athletic Championships in Tokyo with a time of 19.52 seconds. With 19.67, Gout Gout would have finished in 5th place in the 2025 finals.
The Olympics’ website published a side-by-side comparison of Gout vs Usain Bolt. They have an interesting graphic showing the age-adjusted top times. These guys really are neck and neck.
Anything can happen between now and Los Angeles but if he stays healthy it is hard to fathom a world where he is not at least competing for a gold medal in the finals alongside guys 5-10 years older than him.