Gout Gout is primed for his bid to officially break the 20-second barrier for the 200m after he cruised through his heat in ideal conditions at the WA Athletics Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
In front of a full grandstand in temperatures above 30C, the teenager led the first heat comfortably before easing off with 50m to go. Despite his apathy, he still set a rapid time of 20.21s.
Related: Gout Gout breaks 10-second barrier for 100m at Australian athletics championships
Rival Lachie Kennedy looked short of his best after backing up from the 100m on Saturday night, finishing second in his heat behind Aidan Murphy. Kennedy was still third fastest into the final with a time of 20.85s.
All three heats had legal wind readings, setting the scene for the final later on Sunday when Gout will seek his first legal sub-20s time. He ran 19.98s in Brisbane in March, but with an illegal tailwind of 3.6m/s.
The conditions are ideal on Sunday with higher-than-expected temperatures and consistent, moderate tailwinds that aren’t as gusty as previous days.
Gout ran 9.99s for the 100m twice on Thursday, but both runs were achieved with excessive tailwinds.
Calab Law, last year’s 200m national champion, withdrew before the heats after pulling up tight following the 100m final on Saturday, won by Rohan Browning.
Kristie Edwards is the fastest qualifier in the women’s event thanks to her personal best of 21.10s. Carla Bull, Mia Gross and Jess Milat will be her main rivals in the final.
Officials forced fans to queue for seats, after the 2,000-seat grandstand was filled approximately half an hour before the 200m heats. Hundreds more spectators were dotted around the arena’s grassy hill. A crowd of around 4,000 is expected.
Peter Bol proved he is back to his best after a challenging period by breaking the Australian record in the 800m with a time of 1:43.79, beating the previous mark held by Joseph Deng by two tenths of a second.
“We’re happy, we’re running, we’re running for Australia, running for family, running for everything at the moment, so much more purpose,” he said, adding that he wants to move forward after recent “interruptions”.
Bol was provisionally suspended in 2023 after returning an adverse analytical finding for synthetic EPO, a performance enhancing drug, but the ban was lifted shortly after his B sample returned an atypical finding.
“I’d never take anything back, and it’s a growth period that I learn from, but I’d never want it back at the same time, so just happy to be here,” he said.
On Sunday the 31-year-old put that chapter behind him, celebrating in front of his home fans as he crossed the line. He joked afterwards he had to steal back some of the limelight from the sprinters.
“I thought that if these guys can run nine and ten [seconds] flat in the heats and the semis, I’d better come out here and do something otherwise you’ll be forgotten,” he said.
Peyton Craig finished second, recording a personal best and a world championship qualifier of 1:44.07.
In the women’s 800m, Abbey Caldwell upstaged highly-fancied teenager Claudia Hollingsworth by pulling away in the final straight and finishing with a time of 2:00.51.
“I just wanted to back in my confidence in that last 100, and I’m glad I did, because I think that’s what got me over the line first,” she said.
