Australian sprint prodigy Gout Gout blazed trough the 100m heats of the 2026 Australian Athletics Junior Championships on Friday (17 April) with the fastest qualifying time of 10.19 seconds and said he is aiming to break the 10-second barrier in the next races.
While below his personal best of 10.00, set in February, Gout’s heat time in Brisbane would have placed third at the senior nationals last week. The 18-year-old did not compete in that 100m race, but did win the 200m final, becoming the 16th fastest 200m runner ever with a time of 19.67 seconds.
Now he is targeting a sub-10 result over the shorter distance in the semifinal or final, both of which take place on Saturday.
“It’s a good run, definitely saved myself for semis and finals,” Gout told the media after the heats, according to The Guardian.
“Hopefully the wind stays pretty calm and, you know, anything is possible.”
Gout has broken the 10-second barrier before, at the previous national championships in April 2025, but the time was not formally recorded due to excessive tailwind.
The Australian junior championships take place two months before the teenager’s highly-anticipated showdown with Olympic champion Noah Lyles at the Ostrava Golden Spike meet on 16 June. The two stars will race in the non-Olympic distance of 150m.
Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson set the world best of 14.92 over the distance earlier in April, lowering a 32-year mark by 0.05 seconds.
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READ MORE: https://www.olympics.com/en/news/gout-gout-100m-heats-australian-juniors-targets-10-second-barrier
