BRISBANE: Australian sprinting prodigy Gout Gout ran the fastest men’s 200m in the world this year on Sunday, with the 17-year-old saying he felt “literally free”. The youngster rose to prominence in December when he clocked the quickest time ever by a 16-year-old. That mark broke Usain Bolt’s personal best at the same age, with his 20.04secs also bettering Peter Norman’s Australian record of 20.06 from the 1968 Olympics. He turned heads again on Sunday with a 20.05 in the heats of the Queensland State Championships — the fastest in the world this year. Gout then smashed through the 20-second barrier in the final with a 19.98, but it was wind-assisted so deemed illegal. “I felt literally free. I had 80 metres left to go, and I thought, let’s send it,” he said of the final. “Only from then did I believe I had a chance of going sub (20). “Seeing the clock, I was really happy and surprised in a way, but it just felt like a weight off my shoulders. Now that I’ve done it, I’ve just got to do that more consistently.” The lanky Gout, who was born in Australia after his parents migrated from South Sudan, has drawn comparisons with eight-time Olympic gold medallist Bolt. World Athletics President Sebastian Coe recently said he was a rare talent but needed “nurturing and protecting”. The qualifying mark for this year’s World Athletics Championships in Tokyo is 20.16, which Gout has now beaten twice. Published in Dawn, March 17th, 2025