Gout Gout stuns again to win 200m Australian title after rival Lachie Kennedy disqualified

Gout Gout has recorded a stunning 19.84s in the final of the 200m at the national championships in Perth, but an illegal tailwind of 2.2m/s has again prevented him from officially breaking the 20-second barrier.

The 17-year-old overcame nerves and two false starts, one which disqualified rival Lachie Kennedy, to soar down the straight and stop the clock a massive 14 hundredths of a second less than his previous best.

But while celebrating in front of thousands at the WA Athletics Stadium, the wind reading – just 0.2m/s above the legal limit – flashed up.

“It’s definitely frustrating,” he said. “I run fast times but the wind is not on my side, but I guess it’s just getting those nice runs, and then hopefully one day the wind will be great.”

Gout has now run below 20s twice in the 200m, and under 10s in the 100m twice more, but on every occasion the wind reading has been above what is allowed.

But the lack of an official record was a minor blemish on another extraordinary afternoon in the history of Australian sport.

Thousands had filled the Perth track, and there were gasps when Kennedy broke early and was disqualified.

It spoiled what had been pitched as a showdown between the pair of young Queenslanders after Kennedy upstaged the teenager in Melbourne two weeks ago.

“It was very disappointing,” Gout said. “Our plan was to send it down the bend, and hopefully we can hold on for both sub-20 [seconds] but, stuff like that happens and unfortunately he first started, but it is what it is.”

Earlier, in front of a full grandstand in temperatures above 30C, the teenager led the first heat comfortably before easing off with 50m to go. Despite his apathy, he still set a rapid time of 20.21s.

The conditions were ideal on Sunday with higher-than-expected temperatures and consistent, moderate tailwinds that aren’t as gusty as previous days.

Gout ran 9.99s for the 100m twice on Thursday, but both runs were achieved with excessive tailwinds.

Calab Law, last year’s 200m national champion, withdrew before the heats after pulling up tight following the 100m final on Saturday, won by Rohan Browning.

Kristie Edwards is the fastest qualifier in the women’s event thanks to her personal best of 21.10s. Carla Bull, Mia Gross and Jess Milat will be her main rivals in the final.

Officials forced fans to queue for seats, after the 2,000-seat grandstand was filled approximately half an hour before the 200m heats. Hundreds more spectators were dotted around the arena’s grassy hill. A crowd of around 4,000 is expected.

Peter Bol proved he is back to his best after a challenging period by breaking the Australian record in the 800m with a time of 1:43.79, beating the previous mark held by Joseph Deng by two tenths of a second.

“We’re happy, we’re running, we’re running for Australia, running for family, running for everything at the moment, so much more purpose,” he said, adding that he wants to move forward after recent “interruptions”.

Bol was provisionally suspended in 2023 after returning an adverse analytical finding for synthetic EPO, a performance enhancing drug, but the ban was lifted shortly after his B sample returned an atypical finding.

“I’d never take anything back, and it’s a growth period that I learn from, but I’d never want it back at the same time, so just happy to be here,” he said.

On Sunday the 31-year-old put that chapter behind him, celebrating in front of his home fans as he crossed the line. He joked afterwards he had to steal back some of the limelight from the sprinters.

“I thought that if these guys can run nine and ten [seconds] flat in the heats and the semis, I’d better come out here and do something otherwise you’ll be forgotten,” he said.

Peyton Craig finished second, recording a personal best and a world championship qualifier of 1:44.07.

In the women’s 800m, Abbey Caldwell upstaged highly-fancied teenager Claudia Hollingsworth by pulling away in the final straight and finishing with a time of 2:00.51.

“I just wanted to back in my confidence in that last 100, and I’m glad I did, because I think that’s what got me over the line first,” she said.