Gout’s 19.67 seconds run in the 200-meter final at the championships in April has been officially confirmed as the World Under-20 record by World Athletics, dispelling any doubt about his pace. On a windy Sydney afternoon, Gout beat his own record by a third of a second in an amazing effort.
The wind speed of 1.7 meters per second was just within the allowed limit of 2, but some observers were sceptical given the field’s impressive achievements. The first seven finishers recorded personal bests, with runner-up Aidan Murphy clocking the second-fastest time in Australian history of 19.88 seconds. The international sports governing body said Gout’s record still stood on Tuesday.
“Australian sprinter Gout stormed to his world U20 200m record of 19.67 when retaining his title at the Australian Championships in Sydney on 12 April,” said Global Athletics in a statement. The 18-year-old smashed the senior Oceanian record and his previous PB of 20.02. He also beat Erriyon Knighton’s 19.69 for the men’s U20 world record at Eugene in 2022 by 0.02.
Gout’s record has been recognized
The event was among six recent events that had been officially ratified by World Athletics on Tuesday, along with world records by Toshikazu Yamanishi in the men’s half marathon race walk, Yomif Kejelcha in the men’s 10km and Josh Hoey in the men’s 800m short track.
Sometimes there is no ratification. Knighton ran 19.49 seconds in 2022 at the LSU Invitational in Baton Rouge — a time that was much praised at the time. He seemed to be the fourth-fastest 200-meter runner in history behind Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake and Michael Johnson, though Noah Lyles and Letsile Tebogo have since run faster times.
But Knighton’s time of 19.49 was never ratified. Knighton opened his season with a 19.49 in Baton Rouge but that mark could not count as a world U20 record as the required anti-doping testing conditions were not met, World Athletics said in a statement in December 2022.
Knighton was banned for doping in 2025 for four years. His claim that he failed a drugs test last year because he ate contaminated oxtail overseas has been dismissed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Gout’s run means Knighton’s personal best of 19.69 seconds, set in 2022, is no longer the World U20 record at 200 meters. The Australian sprinter will go head-to-head with Lyles in a major 150m in Czechia on June 16.
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