CNN
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Australian teenage sprint sensation Gout Gout recorded the fourth fastest under-18 100m time in history with 10.04 seconds at the All Schools Athletics Championships in Queensland on Friday.

The run, which took place in heats but was wind-assisted and therefore does not count towards the official records, was also the fourth fastest ever run by an Australian sprinter of any age.

The fastest U18 time ever was set by US sprinter Erriyon Knighton in 2021 with a wind-assisted 9.99 seconds. His compatriot Jelani Watkins and Thai sprinter Puripol Boonson are in second and third place, having run 10.02 in 2021 and 2023 respectively.

Later on Friday, with the tailwind having died down, Gout ran a legal time of 10.17 in the final – the sixth fastest legal U18 time – beating his personal best of 10.29 and the previous Australian U18 record of 10.27 by Sebastian Sultana.

“I’ve been chasing this national record for some time! With the heat I thought I had done it but there was a crazy tailwind so I just did the same thing and got the job done,” Gout said afterwards, according to Athletics Australia.

Gout burst onto the scene in 2022 when he ran the 100m in 10.57 seconds as a 14-year-old. In the last two years, the Australian, who turns 17 at the end of December, has drawn comparisons with sprint star Usain Bolt.

He attracted even more attention in August when he clocked a time of 20.60 seconds in the 200m at the 2024 World Athletics U20 Championships – 0.01 seconds faster than a 15-year-old Bolt in 2002, the record at the time. Gout will run in the 200m in Queensland on Saturday.

With an Adidas sponsorship deal secured and high hopes for what he could achieve down the road, Gout is already among the sprint kings.

“In January I’m traveling overseas to train with Noah Lyles and his coach Lance Brauman. “Hopefully we can qualify for the World Cup in Tokyo,” he said after the final on Friday. “If not, I’ll just finish my school in the 12th grade.”