Gout Gout has further entrenched his reputation as being the next Usain Bolt after cracking the magical 10-second barrier in the 100m sprint twice in one night – albeit with illegal tailwinds.

Gout lit up the Australian Athletics Championships in Perth on Thursday night with a wind-assisted run of 9.99 seconds in his first-round heat of the Under-20 men’s category.

Only runs with a 2m/s tailwind or less are considered legal, and the 3.5m/s tailwind meant Gout’s first career sub 10-second run didn’t officially count.

Gout returned two hours later for the final and again blitzed the field with the same time of 9.99s, despite a sluggish start.

The 17-year-old raised his arms and then thumped his chest in celebration upon seeing the time, but faced a nervous wait while the official wind reading came in.

Unfortunately for Gout the tailwind was 2.6m/s, meaning again his run didn’t count as an official time.

Gout’s personal best remains 10.17 seconds.

The current Australian men’s record is the 9.93 seconds set by Patrick Johnson in Mito, Japan in 2003.

“I mean, sometimes it’s frustrating, but you can’t control what you can’t control, and the wind is something you can’t control,” Gout said following his wind-assisted win in the final.

“I saw the clock, I saw another sub 10, I was happy – national (Under 20) champion.

“It definitely boosts my confidence level (cracking 10 seconds twice in one night).

“Sub 10 is what every sprinter hopes for, and to get this early in the season is definitely great.”

World Indoor 60m silver medallist Lachlan Kennedy, who boasts a personal best of 10.03 in the 100m sprint, is also aiming to crack the 10-second barrier in Perth.

Kennedy, 21, is competing in the men’s open field for the 100m on Friday and Saturday, meaning he won’t go head-to-head with Gout over that distance this week.

But the pair will lock horns on Sunday when they line up in the 200m men’s event.

Gout broke Peter Norman’s 56-year-old Australian 200m record late last year when he clocked in at 20.04 seconds – a time faster than what Bolt ran at the same age (20.13).

But Kennedy has bragging rights over the rising star after beating Gout last month in the men’s 200m at the Maurie Plant Meet in Melbourne.

Kennedy posted a time of 20.26 in that event, to narrowly edge Gout (20.30).

—AAP