World Athletics has eliminated any doubt over the speed of Gout Gout, ignoring criticisms over the validity of his 19.67sec set during the 200m final at the nationals in April to formally ratify the time as the World Under 20 record.
On the windy afternoon in Sydney, Gout improved his personal best by a third of a second in a breathtaking performance.
The wind reading of 1.7 metres per second was just inside the legal limit of 2, but strong performances of the entire field drew scepticism from some observers.
Runner up Aidan Murphy ran 19.88sec to record the second fastest time in Australian history, and the first seven finishers set PBs.
The international athletics governing body announced on Tuesday that Gout’s record stands.
“Australian sprinter Gout stormed to his world U20 200m record of 19.67 when retaining his title at the Australian Championships in Sydney on 12 April,” World Athletics said in a statement.
“The 18-year-old smashed his previous PB of 20.02, which was also the senior Oceanian record. He also took 0.02 off the world U20 record of 19.69 set by Erriyon Knighton in Eugene in 2022.”
It was one of six recent performances formally ratified by World Athletics on Tuesday, including world records by Josh Hoey in the men’s 800m short track, Yomif Kejelcha in the men’s 10km and Toshikazu Yamanishi in the men’s half marathon race walk.
Ratification is not automatic. Knighton ran 19.49sec in 2022 at the LSU Invitational at Baton Rouge in a performance that drew widespread praise at the time.
It was a time that appeared to make him the fourth fastest 200m runner ever, behind only Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake and Michael Johnson, though Noah Lyles and Letsile Tebogo have subsequently run quicker.
Knighton’s 19.49sec, however, was never ratified. World Athletics confirmed in a statement in December 2022: “Knighton had opened his season with a time of 19.49 in Baton Rouge, but that mark could not be ratified as a world U20 record because specific anti-doping testing requirements were not met.”
Knighton was banned in 2025 for four years for doping. He had blamed his failed drugs test the previous year on contaminated oxtail imported from overseas, but that defence was rejected by the court of arbitration for sport.
Gout’s performance scrubs Knighton’s 2022 personal best of 19.69sec as the World U20 200m record.
The Australian sprinter is due to race Lyles in a marquee race over 150m in Czechia on 16 June.