Australian Teen Gout Gout Runs Fastest Under-20 200m Time, Outpaces Bolt in Final Stretch

Eighteen-year-old Australian sprinter Gout Gout lined up in a sky-blue lane in Sydney last month for the final 200m race of the day. He surged down the straightaway at nearly 25 mph, taking massive strides through the last 100 meters to post a world under-20 record of 19.67 seconds.

Correspondent Jon Wertheim told 60 Minutes Overtime that Gout Gout outran Usain Bolt as a teenager. "He's compared inevitably to Usain Bolt, the GOAT of sprinting. Why? Because if you compare their teenage times, Gout Gout is actually faster than Usain Bolt was."

Bolt, the Jamaican with eight Olympic gold medals, holds the adult 200m world record of 19.19 seconds from the 2009 World Athletics Championships in Berlin, Germany. Wertheim said Gout Gout could break it. "If you break down Gout Gout's record time for under-20 versus Usain Bolt's record time for all time, you really get a sense of where Gout can make up that time."

Biomechanics expert Dr. Dylan Hicks provided data showing Gout Gout trails Bolt off the blocks. Gout Gout took 10.43 seconds from the start to 100 meters, slower than Bolt's 9.92. From 100 to 150 meters, exiting the curve, Gout Gout ran 4.57 seconds against Bolt's 4.52.

In the final 50 meters, Gout Gout pulled ahead. He hit about 25 mph and clocked 4.67 seconds, faster than Bolt's 4.75. "At just 18 years old, Gout actually ran faster than Bolt in the final 50 meters," Wertheim said.

"What does that say? If Gout Gout can improve his time off the blocks, his reaction time, his start, the second half of the race he's got it."

Hicks told Wertheim in a 60 Minutes interview that Gout Gout stands out with his speed endurance, maintaining peak velocity in the last 50 meters. "He's approaching Usain Bolt-type speeds in that final section. And I guess the key thing for Gout is he's been able to maintain it for a longer period of time. His competitors start to drop off."

Hicks said Gout Gout needs a better start to match top sprinters. "He's obviously giving up maybe one to two tenths compared to his competitors who are gonna be on the podium like Noah Lyles."

Lyles, the American Olympic medalist, has a 200m personal best of 19.31 seconds, 0.36 seconds ahead of Gout Gout and 0.12 behind Bolt.

Coach Di Sheppard, who works at Ipswich Grammar School where Gout Gout began track, still trains him. She said improving starts matters, but his youth plays a role. "You just increase the intensity as his body matures. He will just naturally start to go quicker as the body develops, brain develops, everything ties in."

"Our biggest and weakest thing is his starts, but that's a physical thing. He doesn't have full control of the limbs, they're not fully synced yet."

Bolt has called Gout Gout a younger version of himself on the track. Gout Gout said that motivates him. "I can continue the trajectory to where he did as well. You know, like, I can become big like him, you know? And I guess that gives you the confidence to keep moving forward."

Gout Gout plans to take it steady. "You don't want to overload too much when you're a teenager 'cause then that messes up the rest of your career. You've got all the time in the world."