Usain Bolt's world record smashed by 16-year-old - but he narrowly misses out on major accolade

A young Australian sensation has shattered another record of sprint king Usain Bolt .

During the U20 World Championships held in Peru, 16-year-old Gout Gout clocked a silver-medal time of 20.60 seconds in the 200m race, narrowly surpassing Bolt's performance at almost the same age back in 2002.

The Jamaican icon managed 20.61 seconds in the final round but had previously hit 20.58 seconds in the opening heats.

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Now, more than 20 years after Bolt set his mark , South African Bayanda Walaza snatched the gold with a time of 20.54 seconds and Britain's Jake Odey-Jordan bagged bronze finishing in 20.81 seconds. Brisbane-born Gout, whose heritage lies in South Sudan, expressed his relief post-race, saying: "I'm feeling really relieved after a long two weeks of being in Lima."

He also shared his dedication leading up to the event, "I've been training, grinding and just waiting patiently for this race to happen. Now that it's done, I'm really glad and ready to get in my bed and rest up for the (4x100m) relay."

The prodigious talent, likened to Bolt himself, has seen comparisons made by figures including Athletics Australia president Jane Flemming. Calm about the comparison, Gout described it as "pretty cool".

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Earlier, Jamaica's burgeoning star Nickecoy Bramwell obliterated Bolt's under-17 400m world record at the Carifta Games in Grenada. The prodigious youngster clocked an awe-inspiring 47.26 seconds to edge out the longstanding record by a mere 0.07 seconds.

While Bramwell shines in longer distances, Gout appears to be a strong challenger for Bolt's age-group records in the 100m and 200m. It'll be intriguing to see if Bramwell and Gout can break any more of the Olympic legend's youth records.

Gout and Bramwell's youth-age achievements compare favourably with Bolt's. Gout's personal best in the 200m is the aforementioned 20.60, while his top time in the 100m is an impressive 10.29.

In the 400m, Gout's personal best is 49.01.

As for Bramwell, the 400m is clearly his main event, with a best time of 46.75. In the 200m, it is 21.45 while the 16-year-old's personal best is just under 11 seconds at 10.94 in the 100m.

In 2003, Bolt set a championship record of 20.40 in the 200m at the World Youth Championships, a milestone that should be within Gout's reach. Bolt quickly transitioned his youth performances to the senior stage, turning professional in 2004.

He initially faced disappointment as he was plagued by injury at the 2004 Olympics and 2005 World Championships before securing silver in the 200m at the 2007 Worlds. This was followed by his sensational sprint double gold at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.