If anyone needed convincing about the existence of the so-called "Gout Gout effect", perhaps their doubts were erased on Thursday night. For the second time in two weeks, the 17-year-old held a massive crowd of spectators captivated under his spell. Competing in the U20 100m final at the Australian Athletics Championships in Perth, Gout provided his audience with a breathtaking spectacle, running the blue-riband event in under 10 seconds. Sadly, his effort of 9.99 seconds was wind-assisted (+2.6m/s), meaning it will not stand as an official personal best. Gout stopped the clock in the same time two hours earlier, also with the aid of an illegal tailwind (+3.5m/s). But the presence of an unfriendly gust didn't detract from the stunning display of sprinting Gout produced that left those in the grandstand awestruck. You could hear a pin drop when it was time for Gout to slide into his starting blocks, as was the case at the Maurie Plant Meet in Melbourne almost a fortnight ago. On that occasion, Gout fell agonisingly short of victory in the open-aged 200m, with Lachlan Kennedy pipping his fellow Queenslander by 0.04 of a second (20.26 to 20.30). Gout didn't lose any admirers, with a Perth-based legion of fans trekking to the WA Athletics Stadium on Thursday to catch a glimpse of a sprinting talent who has already attracted worldwide attention. His youngest supporters were particularly enthralled, as they clamoured for the chance of getting a selfie with their hero once the dust had settled following the 100m final. Gout a boon for athletics in Australia Gout's performances went viral last year and he added to his aura when he broke Peter Norman's long-standing national 200m record as a 16-year-old in December with a time of 20.04. That unfairly sent comparisons to Usain Bolt into overdrive, as Gout had run a quicker time for the 200m than the Jamaican legend had at the same age. Gout's feet are firmly on the ground, though, courtesy of a strong family unit and the wise guidance of his coach Di Sheppard and manager James Templeton. You could see the tight bond Gout shares with Sheppard and Templeton on Thursday night, when he made a beeline to embrace both immediately after his media commitments had concluded. Governing body Australian Athletics (AA) is mindful of Gout's reach, having intelligently used the Ipswich Grammar School student as part of its marketing strategies. He was pivotal to AA securing live free-to-air coverage of the Maurie Plant Meet on the Seven Network, with a strong TV audience tuning in to watch the event. Gout's emergence has come at a time when athletics is riding a wave of success in Australia. At the Paris Olympics, Australia claimed seven medals, including Nina Kennedy's gold in the pole vault, while it managed 14 podium finishes at last year's World U20 Athletics Championships in Lima. Gout was among the medallists in Lima, winning silver in the 200m. He's appreciative of the public display of love athletics is enjoying, even if he's too humble to admit it has much to do with his exploits on the track. "This is what Australian athletics needs," Gout told reporters after the U20 100m final in Perth. "This is what we wake up in the morning for. I couldn't ask for anything better. "The great crowds and everyone getting around. It's great. Hopefully, we can get a lot more people." With the "Gout Gout" effect set to go up a few notches in the coming years, athletics in Australia should get used to the attention.