The teenage sprint sensation is now faster than Usain Bolt over 200m at the age of 18.

Gout Gout is no stranger to headlines. The young Australian might still be in the junior ranks but, in the few years that he's competed professionally, has garnered global attention.

Since being spotted by athletics coaches at Ipswich Grammar School – located just 40km south-west of 2032 Olympic host city Brisbane – as a 12-year-old, Gout has gone on to break a number of records as a teenager.

A silver medallist at the 2024 World U20 Athletics Championships in Lima, Gout bettered Peter Norman's Australian 200m record of 20.06 – set at the 1968 Olympics – with 20.05 in the heats at last year's Queensland Championships.

He then produced a wind-aided 19.84 (2.2) in the 200m final at the Australia Athletics Championships, claiming a maiden senior national title in Perth. That weekend Gout also recorded his first two sub-10-second 100m races (both 9.99) to secure the 'double'.

During the summer he improved his Australian 200m record to 20.02, before making his senior global championships debut in Tokyo, where he advanced through his world 200m heat but failed to reach the final. It was valuable experience for the teenager and he was philosophical about competing at the Japan National Stadium.

"I'm going to take away everything," he told the world's media after running 20.36 in his semi-final. "The biggest thing for me is that I know I can compete at the young age that I am against the very best athletes in the world. I'll use all of this as fuel to the fire."

Pressure, noise and expectation has followed the sprinter over a number of years. Such was the hype surrounding Gout in Tokyo that more than three million Australians tuned in to watch his heat and semi-final.

Gout has also had to carry the burden of being compared to Usain Bolt, with his running style, cadence and mechanics linked to the world 100m and 200m record-holder.

Anticipation was therefore high ahead of this outdoor season, especially after the youngster ran an Australian under-20 100m record of 10.00 in Brisbane on February 21.

Gout had yet to break the 20-second barrier for 200m however, the closest being his 20.02 from last year's Golden Spike meeting in Ostrava.

That was until this weekend's Australia Athletics Championships, with Gout setting a world under-20 record of 19.67 to retain his senior 200m title in Sydney.

Not only did he break Erriyon Knighton's ratified junior mark of 19.69 – set at the 2022 USATF Outdoor Championships – but he also went quicker than Bolt in the under-20 category.

Bolt, who won the world junior 200m title on home soil in 2002, clocked 19.93 at the 2004 Carifta Games in Bermuda, which generated headlines around the world.

Gout, who would have known that going quicker than Bolt's junior time would attract even more comparisons, was focused on himself however after his 200m.

"There’s a big weight off my shoulders knowing I ran it legally," Gout said. "I have the speed and my body to run times like that. So, it definitely feels great, and I’m ready for more.

"I wrote down 19.75 seconds, and for the past week in my head I’ve been telling myself I’m running 19.75 and obviously – 19.67 – you’ve got to love it."

Incredibly, Gout didn't have it all his own way in the Australian 200m final.

In a race where the top seven all ran personal bests – including the top five bettering theirs by 0.20 or more – Aidan Murphy also shattered the 20-second barrier. The 2022 Oceanian 200m champion improved his mark from 20.41 to 19.88, finishing second behind Gout.

Murphy and Gout were actually neck and neck with around 50m to go but Gout's top end speed was once again too strong and he came away with the victory. Within seconds the 18-year-old hugged his manager James Templeton and later on celebrated with his coach Di Sheppard.

The pair have helped nurture and protect Gout, creating an environment built on authenticity, resilience and principles. With any prodigious young talent there is always the danger that they could burn out, so they've done their best to phase his progress.

At last year's Monaco Diamond League, Gout had a personal best that would have qualified him for the main race that featured Noah Lyles and Letsile Tebogo. However both Sheppard and Templeton were keen for Gout's greatest memory of Monaco to be the experience of a Diamond League. So they entered him in the under-23 race, which he won in 20.10, before Gout went back to school in Australia.

It's what makes Gout's 19.67 so special. His perseverance, and crucially patience, has led to this moment. If the teenager can go from 20.02 to 19.67 in just one run, then what can he do over the next couple of years?

His summer plans involve skipping the Commonwealth Games to run at this year's World U20 Athletics Championships in Oregon. With the Hayward Field track being one of the quickest in the world, there's every chance Gout could break even more records. In what it still a relatively fledgling career, he is taking everything in his stride, both on and off the track.