SYDNEY (Reuters) – Teenage sensation Gout Gout ran the 200 metres in 20.04 seconds at the Australian schools championships in Brisbane on Saturday to break the national record Peter Norman set at the 1968 Olympics.
The tall 16-year-old, who earned comparisons with Jamaican sprint great Usain Bolt after winning 200m silver at the world under-20 championships in August, won the race by a good margin at the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre (QSAC).
His run was clocked at 20.07 but later revised down to take him under the 20.06 Norman posted to win silver behind Tommie Smith in Mexico 56 years ago. Smith and bronze medallist John Carlos later famously made Black Power salutes on the podium.
“It’s pretty crazy,” said Gout.
“Right now I can’t process it, but I guess tonight when I go to bed, I’ll think about it. These are adults. And me, I’m just a kid, and I’m running them (down)
“I’ve been chasing that record, but I didn’t think it would come this year. I thought it’d come maybe next year, the year after that.”
Gout also ran a blistering 10.04 in the 100 metres heats on Friday in a wind of +3.4, the fourth fastest time in all conditions by an Australian.
The son of migrants from war-torn South Sudan, Gout lives in the Queensland town of Ipswich just down the road from Brisbane, where the Olympics will be held in 2032 when he is 24.
Gout, who will turn 17 later this month, has next targeted breaking the 10-second barrier in the 100 and the 20-second mark in the half-lap race.
“I’ve always done what I said I would,” Gout added on Saturday. “So if I said something, it’s on my mind, and I’m pursuing it until I get it.”
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing Michael Perry)
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