Rising Australian sprinting superstar Gout Gout just turned 17, which begs the question: what does the final year before he becomes an adult have in store for the Queensland speedster drawing comparisons to Jamaican legend Usain Bolt?
The latest viral moment in Gout’s wild rise saw the youngster clock 20.04 seconds over 200 metres at December’s Australian All Schools Athletics Championships, which shattered Peter Norman’s national record set at the Mexico City 1968 Olympics and eclipsed the fastest time recorded by Bolt as a 16-year-old.
Gout, born in Ipswich to parents who migrated to Australia from South Sudan, then turned 17 on December 29.
So, what lies ahead at 17 for the teen sensation?
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Gout Gout.
Gout Gout celebrates his show-stopping run at the Australian All Schools Athletics Championships. Getty
A training camp with an Olympic megastar
Gout announced to the world in December that he’s planning on winning Olympic gold at the Brisbane 2032 Games — and in a few days’ time he will fly to the US to train with an Olympic gold medallist.
From January 13-27, Gout will learn from the world’s best on a training camp with Noah Lyles, the Paris 2024 gold medallist in the men’s 100m.
Gout, along with manager James Templeton, coach Diane Sheppard and training partner Jonathan Kasiano, will join Lyles and the Olympic champion’s coach, Lance Brauman, in Clermont, Florida.
Lyles is an Adidas-sponsored athlete and Gout signed with the sportswear giant in October, reportedly inking a $6 million deal running through to the Brisbane Olympics.
“Training camps are always great,” Templeton told Wide World of Sports.
“For any athlete they’re always exciting … and this more so because Gout’s so young and he’s exposed all of a sudden to the best runner in the world and the coach.”
Noah Lyles celebrates his pulsating win.
US megastar Noah Lyles, the winner of the men’s 100m at the Paris Olympics. Getty Images
Senior competition
Gout will make the jump from under-age to senior competition at the national athletics championships in April.
The Ipswich product will race in the under-20 division in the 100m but compete in the open field in the 200m, Templeton told Wide World of Sports.
Gout will have Perth rocking.
Manager James Templeton (left), Gout Gout (centre) and coach Diane Sheppard.
Manager James Templeton (left), Gout Gout (centre) and coach Diane Sheppard. Getty
Tokyo world championships
Gout will all but certainly make his senior international debut at the world championships in Tokyo in September, for which he qualified by burning through the 200m in 20.04 seconds in December.
His 20.04 would have placed him fifth in the 200m at the most recent world championships, held in Budapest in 2023, and sixth at the Paris Olympics.
“When we came back from Lima [after Gout won 200m silver at the world under-20 championships in August] he was looking forward to the opportunities in the coming 6-12 months to run under 20 seconds,” Templeton said.
The boy who beat Gout at the world under-20 championships, South Africa’s Bayanda Walaza, is almost two years older.
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Heartwarming nod of approval from Aussie sprint great’s family
A shot at Bolt’s 17-year-old best
Bolt’s best 200m time as a 16-year-old was 20.13; Gout’s was 20.04. If Gout is to knock off Bolt’s quickest 200m as a 17-year-old, 19.93 is the mark to beat.
Could Gout crack the 10-second barrier in the 100m as a 17-year-old? He’s clocked 10.04, but was assisted by an illegal wind. His 100m personal best is 10.17, but it’s only a matter of time before he blows that away.
Only one Australian has run a legal sub-10-second 100m. His name is Patrick Johnson, who posted 9.93 in Japan in 2003.
Templeton has always baulked at comparisons drawn between Gout and Bolt.
He used to liken his protégé to Letsile Tebogo of Botswana, but ceased to do so when Tebogo won Olympic gold in the 200m in Paris.
For the time being, Templeton likens Gout to Erriyon Knighton of the US, who ran 19.49 as an 18-year-old.
He is wary of the hype becoming overwhelming.
Usain Bolt in action a month out from his 17th birthday.
Usain Bolt in action a month out from his 17th birthday. Getty
Year 12
Gout has got to balance all of this — taking on the world’s best and his exploding fame — all the while studying year 12.
But Templeton has no doubt the prodigious sprinter, a student at Ipswich Grammar School, will nail the balancing act.
“I’m super proud with how he’s dealing with everything,” Templeton said.
Gout Gout warming up.
Gout Gout warming up. Getty
“A fair bit’s come across his plate across the last, I guess you’d say almost six months, but four months in particular … whether that be expectations in Australia or [with] the shoe deal or the global fame that’s all of a sudden come his way or national fame in Australia with the larger sporting public. It’s all come up in the last four months but he’s handling it all brilliantly.
“… He’s calm, he’s level-headed, he’s a good student, he’s a prefect at his school, and he will continue to juggle all the various elements.”
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