Gout Gout’s record-breaking 200m run was nearly undone by wind and a broadcast blunder that left thousands missing the aftermath.
The 18-year-old stunned the sporting world with a 19.67 at nationals, but Queensland viewers missed the aftermath after Channel 7 cut away.
Commentator Bruce McAvaney had only just begun to capture the scale of the performance when the broadcast suddenly cut away mid-call.
‘He [Gout] wasn’t a certainty and Murphy, can you believe it, has run 19.88, we got …’
Viewers were shown unrelated footage before coverage returned minutes later, sparking backlash from fans who called it an ‘absolute disgrace.’
‘You should be fined for that @7Sport. Honestly … no human could be that stupid,’ one viewer posted.
Gout Gout nearly lost his new 200 metre record to wind assistance before producing his stunning 19.67-second run
Channel Seven cut away from its coverage moments after the historic sprint, leaving viewers furious with the broadcaster
The Queenslander was nervous about the wind until just before he stunned the athletics world in Sydney on Sunday
‘New Australian record and you think we’d rather watch some silly wellness show,’ fumed another.
A Channel Seven spokesperson later confirmed the issue was caused by an operator error that affected Queensland viewers only, apologising for the disruption.
But even before the broadcast chaos, there had been serious doubt over whether Gout’s run would stand at all.
The teenager knew the biggest threat wasn’t the field but the wind, which had cost him legal times, including a disallowed 19.84.
His coach, Di Sheppard, admitted the team had been bracing for another frustrating outcome after tracking the forecast all week.
‘We’ve had the wind against us so many times and we thought it was going to be one of those sorts of days again,’ she said.
Conditions continued to shift throughout the meet, leaving uncertainty over whether any fast time in the final would fall within the legal limit.
Gout later confirmed just how much the milestone had been weighing on him.
Rival Aidan Murphy pushed Gout hard before both dipped under the 20-second mark in a blistering final
Coach Di Sheppard (pictured with Gout) told the 18-year-old to ‘move your a**e’ as he faced stiff competition from Murphy
‘I’ve been chasing it ever since I got that illegal sub-20,’ he said.
‘It’s been on my mind this whole year and these past couple of months.’
When the race got underway, Gout was pushed hard through the bend by Aidan Murphy, who would also dip under the previous national benchmark with a time of 19.88, setting up one of the fastest races ever run on Australian soil.
It was in that moment, as they entered the straight, that Sheppard saw the sign she had been waiting for.
‘He came around the bend and I was like, ‘You better move your a***’,’ she said.
As Gout responded, his arm and hand movement became more precise and controlled, helping him lift his speed and break clear in the final 50 metres.
‘Get those hands moving and he did it.’
He crossed the line in 19.67 seconds, but attention immediately shifted to the wind gauge, which had the final say.
Gout’s time places him ahead of Usain Bolt’s best at the same age, signalling his emergence as a genuine global sprint contender
The reading came in at +1.7, confirming the time was legal and the record would stand.
The result saw Gout not only break his own Australian record but also surpass the time run by Usain Bolt at the same age, further cementing his status as one of the most exciting young sprinters in the world.
‘It’s a big weight off my shoulders knowing that I ran it legally, and I have the speed and body to run times like that,’ he said.
Despite the chaos that followed his finish, both on the track and on television screens, the performance itself left no doubt about his potential.
‘I’m still only 18, just turned 18, so I definitely think I can go faster for sure.’
Gout is also starting to garner serious attention from his potential Olympic rivals as well, with US sprint star Christian Coleman calling for the Usain Bolt comparisons to stop earlier this month.
‘I will say I hate the fact that a lot of times they compare him to Bolt and say he will be the next one or whatever,’ Coleman said while in Australia for the Stawell Gift.
‘I think that he will just be Gout Gout. He’ll just be himself.
‘I’m excited to see what he does.’
