Australian sprint sensation Gout Gout has had a win over his ‘haters’ with the best performance of his career so far declared an official world record.
Gout ran 19.67 in the 200m at the national championships in Sydney on April 12, becoming the first Australian to legally break the 20-second mark over the distance.
In doing so, the 18-year-old Queenslander took .02 off the previous under-20 world record, set by US sprinter Erriyon Knighton in 2022.
He also blitzed Jamaican legend Usain Bolt’s best under-20 time of 19.93, set in 2004.
On Tuesday, World Athletics confirmed in a press release that Gout’s time had been ratified, along with five other world records.
The confirmation came after Gout’s performance had previously attracted cynicism from Olympic champion Justin Gatlin, who disparaged the Australian’s achievement on home soil.
Gout Gout is pictured at the national championships in Sydney on April 12, where he set his stunning world record in the 200m
The teenager became the first Aussie to legally break the 20-second mark over the distance
Pictured: How Gout marked his achievement on Instagram
‘You’ve got to do it outside of Australia. Show us you can do it outside Australia. That’s the thing,’ Gatlin said.
‘You can run fast in comfort, everyone can run fast in comfort. But can you run fast in discomfort? That’s where it’s at.
‘That’s going to be a challenge for him because he’s so used to running in Australia.’
When asked about Gatlin’s comments, Gout fired back and suggested jealousy was a motivation.
‘There’s always going to be haters. If there’s haters, it means you are doing something right,’ Gout said.
‘It is what it is. I never take it (to heart) so I just keep running. It was pretty fast so that’s probably why they were mad.
‘It motivates me to do an even bigger race and run even faster.’
Gout will have his chance to perform outside Australia with his next run at the Diamond League in Oslo on June 10, as he builds towards the under-20 world championships in the US in August.
