Gout Gout given strict three-point criteria to beat Usain Bolt at same age after illegal time controversy

Gout Gout can live up to the Usain Bolt comparisons when he races in the U23s 200m race at the Monaco Diamond League.

The teenage runner shot to prominence in 2020 and last December broke Australian runner Peter Norman’s record of 20.06 seconds in the 200 metre sprint; a record that had stood since 1968.

Gout ran the 200m in 20.04 seconds at the Australian All Schools Championship last December, and then managed to do so in 20.02 seconds in Czech Republic last month in his European debut.

However, he still has some way to go to beat Usain Bolt’s time of of 19.93 seconds he set in 2004, which still stands as the under 20s world record. Gout’s 20.02 seconds record beat Bolt’s age-16 best and is the Oceanian senior record and it’ll take some doing to shave 0.09 seconds off that return.

19.93 seconds, then, is the target for Gout on Friday and anything quicker with a legal wind will see him sprint into the same territory that Bolt occupied at 17. That said, with Monaco’s traditionally fast, sea-level track, Gout should feel somewhat confident about making up the time to write his name into the history books.

Usain Bolt won gold in two Olympics events. Image: Getty

Gout's illegal 100m times

Gout will hope to do so legally, too, having twice run sub-10 second 100m races earlier this year.

Gout recorded times of 9.99 seconds in both races, but both were aided with illegal tailwinds.

The afternoon preliminary saw Gout helped by a tailwind of 3.5m/s, while he recorded a second 9.99s run in the final of the Australian Athletics Championships, but did so with a 2.6m/s tailwind. A wind reading of 2.0m/s or under is needed for a running time to be declared legal.

“Sometimes it's frustrating but you can't control what you can't control,” Gout said after the final race in Perth earlier this year.

“The wind is obviously the thing you can't control. You've just got to learn to run with it or against it.”

The 17-year-old’s stock has been rising quickly, and he’s drawn understandable comparisons with Bolt in the past.

A lot to do to live up to those Usain Bolt comparisons (MICHAL CIZEK/AFP via Getty Images)

Shock AFL move on the cards?

In addition, rumours this week suggest that the AFL have approached Gout about potentially running in the Grand Final Sprint later this year.

The event, which started in 1979, takes place during half time of the Grand Final, AFL’s showpiece.

While the AFL haven’t commented directly on whether Gout has been approached, they did acknowledge they are looking for ways to drum up interest in the Grand Final Sprint.