His time surpassed the under-20 records of two of the fastest men in history – Usain Bolt, who ran a time of 19.93 second with a legal plus-1.4-metre tailwind in 2004, and Justin Gatlin, who ran 19.86 with an illegal tailwind of plus four metres.
Gout also remains the Australian and Oceanian 200m record holder after running a time of 20.04 seconds within legal wind parameters last year as a 16-year-old.
Gout’s budding rivalry with 21-year-old sprinter Lachlan Kennedy will also be renewed at the Stawell Gift after Kennedy was disqualified for a false start before the 200m final in Perth.
Kennedy shocked onlookers by beating Gout at a meet in Melbourne earlier this year.
With middle-distance runner Peter Bol – who will return to Stawell after a thrilling second-place finish in last year’s 1000m invitational race – setting an Australian 800m record in Perth at the weekend, organisers believe this year’s gift field will be one of the most star-studded in history.
Stawell Gift Event Management chair Murray Emerson said this year’s Stawell Gift had drawn a record number of entrants, with tickets anticipated to sell out.
“I think it’ll be gigantic, not only because of Gout Gout but because we’ve got a lot of other top Australian runners there as well,” he said.
“Central Park is in amazing condition and all the major runners who have entered seem to be at the peak of their fitness.
“We have a record number of entries this year, so we couldn’t be going any better at the moment. We just have to hope for a little bit of good weather just to top things off.”
Mr Emerson said Gout’s performance at the weekend had driven anticipation into overdrive.
“The expectations have been pretty high ever since we contracted him to come, but with his recent performances it’s lifted it to an even higher level I think,” he said.
“And without taking anything away from the gift field, Peter Bol’s race last year was outstanding.
“He and all of the other 1000-metre runners could well make it the race of the weekend.”
Gout will start with a one-metre handicap in the 120-metre men’s gift, with Kennedy the backmarker at only 0.25 metres.
Meanwhile in the women’s gift, Bree Rizzo is set to challenge reigning champion Chloe Mannix-Power, with both women running off scratch.
Mr Emerson said with pundits drawing favourable comparisons between Gout and Usain Bolt – arguably the greatest sprinter of all time – chances to see the nascent star could be limited in the future.
“For anybody who wants to come and see this young fella run, you’d better come and see him this year, because I don’t think you’ll be able to see him after this,” he said.
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