First, Usain Bolt’s U16 200m record was shattered in December 2024 with a time of 20.04s, then Bolt’s U20 record fell as Gout Gout clocked 19.67s in the 200m, setting a national and U20 world record. And it only reminded fans that the Australian sprint phenom is still an 18-year-old, with the sky truly the limit for him. But with record-breaking runs comes attention, and a lot of it, as Gout has realized recently, with more than a few critics coming out of the woodwork.

Yet that doesn’t seem to faze the teenager as he responded to his haters ahead of his 100m Australian Athletics Junior Championships final, when a reporter asked him about the “salty Americans” who questioned the veracity of his 200m record.

“There’s always going to be haters. If there’s haters, it means you are doing something right,” Gout said as per the Herald Sun Sport.

“It is what it is. I never take it (to heart), so I just keep running. It was pretty fast, so that’s probably why they were mad. It motivates me to do an even bigger race and run even faster.”

This comes less than a week after Gout Gout broke the U20 world record, clocking in a sensational time of 19.67 seconds, finishing well ahead of his competitors. But Erin Brown, a former NCAA sprinter-turned-track-and-field TikToker, later questioned that record, as did Olympic champion Justin Gatlin. Brown was the first on the scene and made valid points, touching on the records and pointing to the seven top runners, who all ran their personal bests in the 200m final.

“Never trust a time ran in Australia or New Zealand,” Brown said in a video posted on his official X account. “The sh** will always be fake and never replicated anywhere else because it’s going to be windy despite whatever the wind gauge says.”

He cited examples from previous races held in the same week, in which New Zealand sprinter Tommy Te Puni broke the national record in the 200m with a legal time, despite clips showing strong winds. Brown questioned the legality of Gout’s record as well, using news articles and clips about strong winds in the area to drive home his point.

He wasn’t the only one who questioned records set in Australia, as Justin Gatlin, a five-time Olympic medalist and one of the fastest sprinters during his time, also hit out at Gout Gout. He remarked that all of the teenage sprint star’s records have been set in his home country.

“You’ve got to do it outside of Australia. Show us you can do it outside Australia. That’s the thing,” Gatlin said, as per 7news.com.au. “You can run fast in comfort; everyone can run fast in comfort. But can you run fast in discomfort? That’s where it’s at. That’s going to be a challenge for him because he’s so used to running in Australia.”

Once again, as Brown did, Gatlin raised valid points: all of Gout Gout’s personal best records have been set in Australia, including his 100m, 200m, 4x100m relay, 400m, and 60m records. That doesn’t mean he hasn’t done horribly when stepping outside Australia, although he hasn’t quite performed the same way. The biggest example is the 200m at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, where Gout was knocked out in the semi-final.

There, he ran 20.36 seconds after running 20.23 seconds in his heat for the same race. He did, however, clock in 20.02 at the 64th Ostrava Golden Spike in Ostrava in the same year. Not only that, but Gout Gout also clocked in 20.60 at the 2024 World Athletics U20 Championships in Lima, albeit finishing second behind winner Bayanda Walaza. But the 18-year-old will have his chance soon enough to prove his mettle when he makes his senior Diamond League debut at the Bislett Games in Oslo.

It’ll mark the biggest meet Gout Gout will participate in since the 2025 World Championships, and the Australian will follow that up with an appearance at the Prefontaine Classic, also a Diamond meet series. He’ll race the 200m at both events, facing up against Letsile Tebogo, Kenneth Bednarek, and several other sprint stars.

And that, combined with the noise surrounding him, has indeed motivated Gout to break more records in the biggest races.

“Yeah, 100%. I, I mean, uh, just mot- motivates me to do it in even bigger races for sure and run even faster,” Gout replied when asked if the criticism motivates him.

He will, however, be hoping to break the sub-10 barrier in the 100m, having just come short at the Australian Junior Championships despite winning the race.

Gout Gout reflects on his 100m win at the Australian Junior Championships

The 18-year-old lined up against Zavier Peacock, Uwezo Lubenda, and others in the final, after qualifying with 10.19s in the heat and then 10.44 in the semi-final. And to make things even more interesting, his rival Lachlan Kennedy had become the first Australian to break the 10-second barrier in the 100m, and a good deal of expected Gout Gout to follow the same route.

But the teenager suffered a slow start in the final, yet he powered through almost effortlessly, flying past the competition to finish first in 10.21 seconds. That was well ahead of second-place Peacock (10.35) and third-place Lubenda (10.37), although the 18-year-old certainly put on a show, waving to the crowd 10m from the finish line.

“I didn’t have the best start, but I came out for the W [win], and I wanted to put on a show for the rest of the people watching,” Gout said as per The Guardian.

“The more of a show there is, the more people that are going to come and watch. The more people there are, the more pressure. The more pressure, the faster you run. At the end of the day, I’m going out there to have a bit of fun and run as fast as I can.”

It marks Gout Gout’s second Australian Junior Championships 100m title, having won it in the past, although he has never broken the 10-second barrier. He has, however, done 10.00 flat recently, when he registered that time in February at the Dane Bird-Smith Shield & QLD 10,000m Race Walk Championships. It shows a slow and steady improvement to his personal best in the 100m, having previously clocked 10.17 in 2024, 10.38 in 2025, and 10.43 in 2023.

“I have done 10.00 flat in my season opener, and that race was a bit rocky. Time will tell, obviously, but I am pretty sure that is coming soon,” Gout added, about breaking the 10-second mark.

That chance won’t come for a few weeks as Gout Gout’s target next will be Noah Lyles when the two stars lock horns over 150m in June at the Ostrava Golden Spike meet in Czechia. Before that, both the Olympic 100m champion and the teenager will be training together for a few weeks as they share the same sponsor, who has organized the session.