WA news LIVE: Will they break the 10-second barrier? Australia’s young sprint stars descend on Perth

Hopes are high the magical 10-second barrier will be broken as Australia’s next wave of sprint stars converge in Perth for the Australian Athletics Championships, which get underway today.

The rapid emergence of Gout Gout has already set tongues wagging around the world, with the 17-year-old Queenslander even drawing comparisons with the great Usain Bolt.

But it seems Gout is just part of what is shaping up to be a golden generation of Australian sprinting.

World Indoor 60m silver medallist Lachlan Kennedy put his name up in lights by beating Gout last month in the men’s 200m at the Maurie Plant Meet in Melbourne.

Gout and 21-year-old Kennedy will again go head-to-head in the 200m, with the final to be run in Floreat on Sunday.

Unfortunately for sprint fans, Kennedy won’t be head-to-head with Gout in the 100m, given Gout will compete in the U20s sprint on Thursday evening and Kennedy in the Open category on Friday and Saturday.

Nevertheless, both stars are aiming to crack the 10-second barrier, meaning it could be a double dose of joy for Australian sprinting at the meet.

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

“I’m aiming for a sub-10 time for sure,” Kennedy said.

“In one of the rounds, I’ll do it and then I want to try and break the Australian record in the 100m and I really want to go for 19 seconds in the 200m.

“I think that’s more than possible, it’ll just be how my body can handle the rounds.”