Featured Image Credit: World Athletics
Topics: Athletics, Usain Bolt, Gout Gout
Ben McCrum
Australian sprint sensation Gout Gout shocked the world with a record breaking time in a 200m event during his European debut.
As the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold arrived at the Ostrava Golden Spike in Czechia on Tuesday, all eyes were on the men's 200m event as Australian young star Gout Gout made his debut in Europe.
With the World Championships set to place in Tokyo in September, competing in Europe for the first time marked a big step in the 17-year-old's career, putting significant pressure on him.
But the Australian, who has been tipped by many as the only man who could break Olympic legend Usain Bolt's long-standing records in the 100m and 200m events, didn't disappoint as he produced a lightning quick time.
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Despite entering the race as the underdog, Gout Gout came away with a victory in the 200m event with a breathtaking time of 20.02 seconds ahead of race favourite Reynier Mena who ran 20.19s.
In doing so, the youngster not only set a personal record, but also smashed the Australian national record in the event, a feat that is especially impressive given that the sprint was not wind-assisted.
It also takes him within just two hundredths of a second of reaching a sub 20-second time, something that Bolt achieved back in April 2004 when he was also 17 years old.
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As it stands, Gout's time is 0.83 seconds behind Bolt's world record 200m time of 19.19 seconds, which was set at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin.
Therefore, Bolt should be seriously worried given the fact that after his retirement, he admitted that, despite also boasting records in the 100m and 4x100m events, it is his 200m record that he treasures the most.
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Speaking on the Ready Set Go podcast, the 38-year-old revealed: "The 200m is my favourite event. So when I got that, it meant so much more to me than the 100m.
"Even now people say, 'Oh the 100?' and I'm [like], 'But, 200m, you know what I mean?' It's my favourite thing. When it comes to the 200m I don't fear anybody. I'm ready all the time."