There seems to be no moment that can rattle 16-year-old track star Gout Gout, who pipped one of Australia’s most famous records at the Australian All Schools Championships in Brisbane on Saturday.
History beckoned in the form of Australian sprinter Peter Norman’s 56-year-old national 200-metre record, and the teenager delivered with a stunning time of 20.04 seconds, edging Norman’s 20.06 set at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics.
It takes a generational athlete and nerves of steel to invite such heavy expectations around performances.
The world watched, and Queenslander Gout, who has been compared to champion Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt at the same age, revelled in all the hype.
“I’ve been getting pressure. My video went viral right before world juniors,” Gout said on Saturday.
“You know what they say, pressure makes diamonds. I’m better than a diamond right now.”
The number on everyone’s minds was Norman’s national record of 20.06, set at the 1968 Mexico Olympics when silver medallist Norman stood on the dais in support of Tommie Smith and John Carlos as they gave a black-power salute.
Before Saturday’s incredible run, Gout already had the under-16, under-18, and under-20 national records in his keeping.
Now that he has the open standard, greater goals such as a world-class sub-20 seconds for the 200 metres, and sub-10 seconds for the 100 metres are on his mind.
“It’s definitely great. I’ve been chasing that record,” Gout said.
“It’s pretty crazy. Right now I can’t process it, but tonight when I go to bed and think about it it will be pretty crazy for sure.
“These are adult times and me, just a kid, I’m running them, so it’s definitely going to be a great future for sure.”
After enduring a false start in the under-18 final, Gout helped the two placegetters, Josiah John and Terrell Thorne (both 20.87), to sub-21-second performances.
Gout had already set stratospheric expectations when he claimed silver at the world under-20s championships in August in a time of 20.60, then lowered his personal best to 20.29 at the Queensland All Schools Championships.
His 10.17 in the 100m final on Friday meant he arrived on Saturday as a five-time national record-holder.
Another teenage record-breaker was South Australia’s Ken Ferrante Tanikawa, who set a new mark of 12.59 seconds in the under-16 boys’ 100 metre hurdles.
