Why Gout Gout's records are in danger after recent announcement
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Reading Time: 2min | Tue. 09.12.25. | 16:36
Gout burst onto the scene at 16 when he ran a stunning 20.04 seconds to win the 200m at the Australian All Schools Championships, breaking a national record that had stood for 56 years
Teenage sprint sensation Gout Gout's dominance in the 100m and 200m may soon come under intense pressure following a major announcement that has shaken up Australia’s sprinting landscape.
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New Zealand’s fastest man, Edward Osei-Nketia, has officially switched allegiance to Australia, immediately positioning himself as a formidable rival and a direct threat to the national records Gout has been chasing and breaking.
Australian Athletics confirmed the news on Friday, 5 December.
“He has been lighting up Australian tracks for years, but Edward Osei-Nketia is now officially eligible to represent Australia on the world stage, completing his transfer of allegiance from New Zealand.
The 10.08-second man joins the nation’s rising sprinting stocks. This is going to be fun.”
Osei-Nketia did not shy away from declaring his ambitions. Speaking to the Associated Press, he outlined his lofty goals for Australia.
“My goal with Australia is to break both the 100m and 200m records and also help the relay team to not just make the finals, but also to earn a medal on the big stage, and with the team, I believe it’s possible.
Not just LA, the Commonwealth Games, World Championships, and the world relay, any chance we get. I am 100% with Australia from here on out,” he offered.
His arrival comes at a moment when Gout Gout, just 17, has been redefining what is possible for an Australian sprinter his age.
The teenager burst onto the scene at 16 when he ran a stunning 20.04 seconds to win the 200m at the Australian All Schools Championships, breaking a national record that had stood for 56 years.
Earlier this year, he clocked an unofficial but electrifying 9.94 seconds at a schoolboy meet in Queensland, a performance that sent shockwaves through world sprinting circles.
His progress continued on the global stage as he made the 200m semifinal at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, before wrapping up his junior career with a personal best of 46.14 in the 400m.
His meteoric rise earned him a spot on Forbes Australia’s 30 Under 30 list, an accomplishment that even Usain Bolt and Noah Lyles did not manage at his age. Gout’s trajectory suggested he was on his way to becoming Australia’s undisputed sprinting king.
At the 2022 World Athletics Championships, Osei-Nketia broke his father Gus Nketia’s national record in a time of 10.08 seconds.
He also set the New Zealand record in the 200m when he ran a 20.24sec in May for the University of Southern California in a college meet in Texas.
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