Gout Gout and Lachlan Kennedy hit the line in the 200m at the Maurie Plant Meet.
Gout Gout (left) could not chase down Lachlan Kennedy (right) in the Peter Norman Memorial 200m.
It says a lot about Gout Gout’s potential that his blistering speed isn’t the most important asset he possesses as an athlete.
And running a quicker time in the event than Usain Bolt (20.13) recorded at the same age only underlines his enormous ability.
But Gout’s greatest strength is his attitude, displaying a hunger to learn from any setback he faces on the track.
In the final event of Saturday night’s Maurie Plant Meet at Melbourne’s Lakeside Stadium, Gout — now aged 17 — was upstaged in the Peter Norman Memorial 200m by fellow Queenslander Lachlan Kennedy.
Kennedy — who won in a personal best time of 20.26 — deserved his victory, managed with the aid of a slight tailwind (+0.4 m/s).
But it was a shock result, especially for the sell-out crowd of 10,000, most of whom had come to see Gout run.
Gout clocked 20.30, falling just short of overhauling Kennedy, who held a commanding lead as the field came off the bend and entered the straight.
Gout Gout crouches after 200m at Maurie Plant Meet.
Gout is focused on learning from the experience of finishing second in Melbourne.
Only moments after crossing the finish line in second place, Gout showed graciousness by congratulating Kennedy and praising his domestic rival.
And soon after — when he met reporters track-side at Lakeside Stadium — Gout made no bold statements about reversing the result when they next meet.
Instead, he was already focusing on what he could learn from the defeat to make him a better athlete.
“What’s going through my head is … what I can gain from this experience and just knowing what I can do in training to improve,” Gout said.
“People will say winning feels great, coming second feels bad and third feels even worse.
“So coming second is something you can experience and it definitely puts fuel to my fire and it ignites that burn.”
The sting Gout felt after finishing second was noted by his coach, Di Sheppard.
She believes it will be a valuable lesson for her charge as they turn their attention to next month’s national championships in Perth.
“I know he’s quite angry about that [result],” Sheppard said.
“For me, that’s going to make him more prepared for going into open nats (national championships).
“So that’s all about learning about competing in different environments and that’s all you can do, just try to get them ready for it.”
Gout enjoying the hype
When Gout broke Norman’s 56-year-old Australian record, he did so in front of a small crowd attending the Australian All Schools Championships at Brisbane’s QSAC track facility.
Only a fortnight ago, he ran a wind-assisted 19.98 at the Queensland Athletics Championships, again with only a smattering of spectators watching on at the same venue.
The Maurie Plant Meet, on the other hand, was a vastly different experience for the self-described “chill” teenager.
It attracted the first sold-out crowd in Australia for a one-day athletics meet in 24 years and enjoyed a live national free-to-air TV audience on the Seven Network.
Gout Gout takes a selfie with a spectator.
Gout was the centre of attention with spectators at Lakeside Stadium.
out was also competing outside of age-group events, as those Brisbane meets saw him face U18 and U20 opponents only.
The eerie silence that descended over spectators in Melbourne as Gout and the rest of the field eased into their starting blocks was another sign of the respect the Ipswich Grammar School year 12 student has already earned.
According to Gout, “you could hear a pin drop” as the hush spread around the stadium.
Gout knows to achieve his goals in athletics he must become accustomed to this kind of attention.
That’s why he soaked up the atmosphere and embraced the hype, which will only be a fraction of what he can expect if he becomes a contender for Olympic and world championships medals in the coming years.
“This is what you live for: this environment, the hype, the people, expectations and pressure,” Gout said.
“This is why I go to training every day. This is what I go to sleep for, so it’s definitely something I can’t not think about.”
‘What a great race’
Kennedy’s win completed the sprint double following his earlier victory in the 100m
His winning time on Saturday night slashed 0.67 off his PB and is the fifth fastest by an Australian in history.
Lachlan Kennedy holds up a trophy at the Maurie Plant Meet.
Kennedy claimed the Peter Norman Memorial 200m Trophy with his win.
Kennedy executed his race plan to perfection, having established a sizeable enough lead to withstand Gout’s devastating finish.
“My goal was to go out hard and just try my best to hold him off and I got lucky,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy described Gout as an “incredible” athlete, noting the “G-Man” was undoubtedly the crowd favourite.
“I just wanted to give him a good race,” Kennedy said.
“It wouldn’t be fun if he just destroyed everyone, so I’m sorry if I did spoil it but what a great race.
“You can’t be upset about watching something like that.”
As a spectacle, it left none of the crowd disappointed as they made their way home.
Gout also departed into the Melbourne night relishing the experience, despite not coming away with the victory.
“This is only something you can get from a big meet,” he said.
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