Gout Gout's staggering Olympics call as Aussie denied world record in cruel anomaly
Gout Gout has declared he knows he's got what it takes to become a world and Olympic champion, after burning up the track at the Australian athletics championships in Perth. On a huge weekend for Australian athletics, Gout made history in Perth as discus thrower Matt Denny was cruelly denied a world record in America despite beating the previous mark.
Denny smashed his personal best three times in three days at the Oklahoma Throws Series World Invitational in Ramona, and recoded a 74.78m on Sunday (Monday Australian time). That effort was better than Mykolas Alekna's world record mark of 74.35m - which he managed at the same event last year to break the record that had stood since 1986.
The only problem for Denny and his world record attempt was that Alekna went even further. The 22-year-old from Lithuania produced monster throws of 74.89m on his opening attempt and 75.56m in the fourth round.
74.78m answer from Matty Denny. He'll need the second 75+m throw in world history to unseat Alekna in r6. pic.twitter.com/vVssf8S9Nw
— Paul Hof-Mahoney (@phofmahoney) April 13, 2025
The Olympic silver and bronze medallists took advantage of favourable conditions in Ramona - a venue beloved by throwers due to the gusty conditions and favourable tail-winds. Unlike in track events, there's no legal limit on how strong a tail-wind can be in discus.
THE FIRST 75M THROW BY A MAN EVER!MYKOLAS ALEKNA, 75.56M!!!! pic.twitter.com/jRkbOYGbu8
— Paul Hof-Mahoney (@phofmahoney) April 13, 2025
Despite bettering the previous world record but walking away empty handed, Denny enjoyed a remarkable week in the US. It more than justified his decision to skip the Australian championships in Perth.
The 28-year-old finally crashed through the 70-metre barrier for the first time in his career last weekend with 72.07m. He improved that PB again with 74.25m three days ago - also in Oklahoma.
Denny has claimed gold at the past two Diamond League finals, bronze at the Paris Olympics last year and also finished in the top six at the three most recent editions of the world championships. He will be among Australia's leading gold-medal hopes at September's world titles in Tokyo.
Meanwhile, Gout is vowing to get even better and become an Olympic gold medallist one day after the 17-year-old made more worldwide headlines in Perth by going under 10 seconds in the 100m and under 20s in the 200. Neither of the runs count as official times because the tail-winds were above the allowed mark of two metres per second on every occasion.
He did 9.99 twice in the 100m on Thursday and 19.84 in the 200 on Sunday, but the illegal winds mean Gout's quest to officially go sub-10 and sub-20 is still ongoing. But the confidence he gained by unofficially breaking those barriers in the one meet is priceless.
"These are the steps you take to the top, and the steps I have to take to potentially become a world champion or an Olympic champion," he said. "So if I can get these little steps, focus on the little things, I think I can take it far."
Australian sprinting is on the verge of a golden era - and the national championships was further proof of that. Lachie Kennedy, Rohan Browning, Leah O'Brien and Torrie Lewis all impressed, showing the future of the sport is in safe hands.
Browning regained his mantle as Australia's sprint king and showed he has plenty left in the tank, pipping young gun Kennedy in the men's open 100m. Kennedy was then set to battle Gout in the 200m (Gout only ran the 100m in the Under-20 category) before being disqualified for a false start.
Gout's fellow 17-year-old O'Brien announced herself as a star in the making, breaking the Australian under-18 girls record in the 100m that had been held by sprinting icon Raelene Boyle since 1968. She backed that up with an 11.24 in the women's open 100m final on Saturday night, only to be pipped by four thousandths of a second by national record holder Lewis.
And Peter Bol wound back the clock in the men's 800m final with a national record of 1:43.79. The stunning win marked a huge statemnt ahead of the world championships, and showed Bol is back to his best after a tumultuous period.
BOL BACK ON TOP 😤Peter Bol breaks the national record on his way to a national championship!🎬 https://t.co/bOYZZUfUdU pic.twitter.com/kAyimtaPkS
— 7Sport (@7Sport) April 13, 2025
with AAP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Washington Post
44 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Grand Slam Track scraps LA event, leaving 2028 Olympic host without a major track meet this summer
Grand Slam Track canceled the final meet of its first season, in Los Angeles, leaving the host of the 2028 Olympics and the country's second-largest city without a major track meet this summer. The news Thursday about the abrupt scrubbing of the meet, scheduled for the last weekend in June at Drake Stadium, combines with USA Track and Field's earlier decision to take an event set for earlier in June — the LA Grand Prix — off the calendar.
an hour ago
At the US Open, Patrick Reed hits the rarest of shots — an albatross
OAKMONT, Pa. -- Patrick Reed made only the fourth double-eagle since the U.S. Open started keeping records some four decades ago, dunking in his second shot from 286 yards Thursday on the par-5 fourth hole at Oakmont. The so-called albatross is considered the rarest shot in golf, with only a few hundred being made a year across the world, compared to more than 30,000 holes-in-one. Reed looked stunned after he hit a fairway wood onto the green, watched it bounce three times and then roll toward the hole. Unsure of where the ball went, he raised his palm to the sky, then pointed downward, asking if it went in. The applause up at the green gave him the answer. The 2018 Masters champion joins T.C. Chen (1985 at Oakland Hills), Shaun Micheel (2010 at Pebble Beach) and Nick Watney (2012 at Olympic) as the only players to make an albatross at the U.S. Open since the event started keeping records in 1983.
Fox Sports
an hour ago
- Fox Sports
Patrick Reed hits the rarest of shots — an albatross — at the U.S. Open
PGA Tour Patrick Reed hits the rarest of shots — an albatross — at the U.S. Open Updated Jun. 12, 2025 4:15 p.m. ET share facebook x reddit link Patrick Reed made only the fourth double-eagle since the U.S. Open started keeping records some four decades ago, dunking in his second shot from 286 yards Thursday on the par-5 fourth hole at Oakmont. The so-called albatross is considered the rarest shot in golf, with only a few hundred being made a year across the world, compared to more than 30,000 holes-in-one. Reed looked stunned after he hit a fairway wood onto the green, watched it bounce three times and then roll toward the hole. Unsure of where the ball went, he raised his palm to the sky, then pointed downward, asking if it went in. The applause up at the green gave him the answer. The 2018 Masters champion joins T.C. Chen (1985 at Oakland Hills), Shaun Micheel (2010 at Pebble Beach) and Nick Watney (2012 at the Olympics) as the only players to make an albatross at the U.S. Open since the event started keeping records in 1983. ADVERTISEMENT Reporting by The Associated Press. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily ! FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience PGA Tour share
