Rival captured in staggering act towards Gout Gout after disqualification drama
Lachie Kennedy showed his class after his highly-anticipated 200m showdown with Gout Gout was ruined on Sunday in Perth. Gout created more worldwide headlines with a remarkable run of 19.84 seconds in the 200m at the Australian athletics championships - albeit with an illegal tail-wind.
Gout's showdown with Kennedy was set to be the highlight of the meet, after the latter upstaged his 17-year-old rival in the event at the Maurie Plant Meet in Melbourne last month. But there was huge drama in Sunday's final when Kennedy was disqualified for a false start, leaving Gout as the centre of attention.
The 21-year-old Kennedy was red-carded for moving before the starting gun, after some felt he committed the same foul before his heat. On that occasion he wasn't disqualified, but his luck ran out in the final and he was kicked out of the race.
Kennedy watched on as Gout set the track ablaze, posting a remarkable 19.84 seconds as Aidan Murphy was a distant second in 20.40. Gout celebrated wildly upon seeing his time, but he faced a nervous wait to find out if the tail-wind was below the legal limit of 2m/second.
But just like in the 100m final of the Under-20 event - when Gout recorded a 9.99 - the tail-wind was deemed illegal and the teenager's time won't go into the official record books. The reading was 2.2m/s in the 200m final, meaning his time doesn't stand as an official record.
Nevertheless, Gout's 200m run is the fastest ever recorded by an Australian - wind-assisted or not - and will further put his name up in lights on the world stage. It marked the second time he's posted a wind-assisted sub-20 run in the event, following a 19.98 with a 3.6m/s tail-wind in Queensland last month.
In a brilliant show of sportsmanship after Sunday's final, Kennedy ran down the track to congratulate and celebrate with Gout. Kennedy wrapped his arms around Gout and broke out in a giant smile, and couldn't be happier for his rival.
"It means a lot," Gout said of Kennedy's support. "He's a fellow Queenslander. Just the camaraderie we have is definitely great and something that will continue to be great.
"That was very disappointing (to see him disqualified), because our plan was to send it down the bend and hopefully we can hold on for both sub-20. But I mean, stuff like that happens, and unfortunately he false-started, but it is what it is."
Even have a little handshake, love this
— . (@XerrirobbedofAA) April 13, 2025
Class act!
— Dan Coppel (@dcoppel) April 13, 2025
There is our opening and closing legs of relay team embracing
— BorderAthleticsSC (@Borderathletics) April 13, 2025
Gout broke Peter Norman's official 56-year-old Australian record in the 200m last year when he clocked 20.04 seconds - a time faster than sprint king Usain Bolt ran at the same age (20.13). But Kennedy earned bragging rights over his 17-year-old rival last month when he posted a time of 20.26 to beat Gout by four-tenths of a second in Melbourne.
The pair look destined for a titanic rivalry in both the 100m and 200m for years to come. They've yet to race head-to-head in the 100m because Gout has only competed in the Under-20 event across the shorter distance. On Saturday night, Rohan Browning reminded his younger rivals that he's still a force to be reckoned with, pipping Kennedy in a photo-finish in the 100m final.
That finish 🥵
— Brisbane 2032 (@Brisbane_2032) April 13, 2025
Not putting any pressure on the lad but I can picture the Brisbane 32 advertisement campaign now and he's front and centre 🤞🙌
— jd (@thedoorunrun) April 13, 2025
19.84s!!🤯🔥17-year-old Gout Gout 🇦🇺 has just run a blistering 19.84s (2.2) to win the Australian senior men's 200m title in Perth!He beat the field by a huge margin, with Aidan Murphy a far 2nd in 20.40s.Lachlan Kennedy was disqualified for a false start. pic.twitter.com/OxXrpmqvtt
— Track & Field Gazette (@TrackGazette) April 13, 2025
It is quite unfortunate that the wind is affecting his times so badly but it is looking good so far. He will be up for it at the World Champs
— ubhekani (@u_bhekani) April 13, 2025
with AAP
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