MELBOURNE : Teenage sprint sensation Gout Gout will aim to break the 10-second barrier in the 100 metres at the Australian junior championships in Brisbane this weekend, fresh off his record-breaking 200m performance.
The 18-year-old captured global attention at the senior championships in Sydney last weekend, clocking 19.67 seconds to win the 200m title and set a new under-20 world record.
His focus now shifts to the 100m at the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre, where he ran 10.19 seconds in the heats on Friday. Gout has set his sights on dipping below 10 seconds in Saturday’s semi-finals and final.
Only two Australians have achieved the feat — Patrick Johnson, who holds the national record of 9.93, and Lachlan Kennedy, who recently clocked 9.96 twice.
Gout, who posted a personal best of 10.00 seconds at the same venue in February, said he was confident of going quicker.
“Hopefully the wind stays calm and anything is possible,” he said.
Johnson has cautioned against placing too much pressure on the teenager but welcomed the prospect of his long-standing record being challenged.
“I never want to be the last,” Johnson said. “Records are there to be broken.”
Gout will also compete in the 200m, where he could improve on his national mark when the preliminaries begin on Sunday.
Despite comparisons with Usain Bolt, some observers remain cautious, with former Olympic champion Justin Gatlin noting the youngster must prove himself outside Australia.
Gout, however, remains unfazed by criticism.
“If there are haters, it means you are doing something right,” he said.
