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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial | |
ARTICLE VIEW: | |
17-year-old sprint sensation Gout Gout ready to ‘do my thing’ at | |
World Athletics Championships | |
By Ben Church, CNN | |
Updated: | |
6:27 AM EDT, Mon September 15, 2025 | |
Source: CNN | |
He may be just 17 but sprint sensation is ready to show the world just | |
how fast he is. | |
The teenager has seen his profile skyrocket over the last few years, | |
with videos of his lightning-quick performances going viral around the | |
world. | |
Now, the youngster has the opportunity to test himself against the best | |
in the sport as he prepares to compete in the 200m competition at this | |
year’s in Tokyo. | |
The first heats are scheduled to take place Wednesday, with Gout | |
telling reporters that he’s ready to prove his credentials. | |
“I’ve earned my place to be here,” he said Monday, per . | |
“Obviously, these athletes are stronger, bigger, older, more | |
experienced, but I know that I have the ability to go out there and do | |
my thing. | |
“At the end of the day, we’re all running 200 meters, and | |
regardless of how old you are, when you stop on that line, it’s all | |
about who’s fastest.” | |
Gout broke onto the scene in 2022 when he ran the 100m in 10.57 seconds | |
as a 14-year-old, but garnered even more attention after running 200m | |
in 20.60 at last year’s World Athletics U20 Championships – 0.01 | |
seconds faster than a 15-year-old Usain Bolt managed in 2002. | |
He also broke his own Australian 200m record in June, finishing in a | |
time of 20.02 in what was his first senior race abroad. | |
Speaking to reporters about his ambitions for this year’s world | |
championships, Gout said he was just focused on securing a personal | |
best, although admitted he was determined to one day break the 200m | |
20-second barrier. | |
He has previously dipped under that elite benchmark, but his time of | |
19.98 recorded earlier this year didn’t count as an official record | |
due to favorable wind conditions on the day. | |
“I definitely think PB-ing, regardless of where I come, is definitely | |
a big success,” he told reporters in Tokyo. | |
“And hopefully, if I can make it at the semi, that’s even greater. | |
And then if I make it into the final, that’s a big success.” | |
‘Surreal’ attention | |
Now considered one of the fastest teenagers on the planet, Gout Gout | |
has had to get used to dealing with fame. | |
He’s also had to shoulder comparisons with Jamaican legend Bolt, who | |
has praised the Australian for his performances to date. | |
Olympic 200-meter champion Letsile Tebogo also that Gout can “be one | |
of the best” but the charismatic youngster is just trying to just | |
focus on improving every day. | |
“It’s definitely crazy,” he said. “I’ve had people with their | |
grandparents come up to me wanting photos … I’ve had a baby, her | |
mother wanted me to sign her forehead. | |
“It’s definitely surreal (…) and it’s definitely something I | |
enjoy. | |
“Just being able to be that someone who started off as a nobody and | |
became someone really, really good. Being that I think would be a very, | |
very big success for me.” | |
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