Noah Lyles and Gout Gout are set to race each other for the first time, with the date and place now announced!
A date has finally been set for Gout Gout’s first race against Olympic 100m champion Noah Lyles.
Eighteen-year-old Australian Gout has been making waves in athletics recently. In April, he ran an impressive 19.67 seconds to win the 200m national title at the Australian Athletics Championships — setting a new under-20 record.
This time means he’s even faster than Usain Bolt was at the same age. Bolt ran 19.93 seconds as an 18-year-old back in 2004. Gout also set the fastest 16-year-old time this year with 20.06 seconds, and many people believe he could break Bolt’s long-standing sprint records from 2009.
Gout has said he might skip the Commonwealth Games in July to focus on the World Under-20 Championships in August.
But before that, he’ll get the chance to race against the world’s best sprinter at the Městský Stadion in Czechia on June 16.
Gout and 100m Olympic champion Lyles will face off over 150 metres at the Ostrava Golden Spike event. Although they’ve never raced each other before, they trained together in the winter of 2025.
Lyles has praised Gout, saying, “He’s more talented than I was at the same age.” He also called Gout “an amazing kid” with a great attitude and a strong team behind him. Lyles is excited to see how Gout grows as an athlete, noting the importance of training smart and building strength slowly with the help of a good coach.
Usain Bolt gave similar advice last month, encouraging Gout to stay focused and avoid distractions. Bolt told CNN that young athletes often get pulled in many directions and forget about the sport. He hopes Gout has the right people guiding him because if you lose focus on track and field, it’s hard to come back.
Both legends believe the future looks very bright for Gout Gout!