Big ramifications for Gout Gout as Aussies makes history at world championships

Yahoo

11-05-2025

The Aussie athletics team could add Gout Gout to a star-studded 4x100m team at the world championships in September after a historic night at the World Relays event in China. Four Australian relay teams booked their places for the world championships in Tokyo on Sunday night, including the men's 4x100m team - who could feature both sprint stars Lachie Kennedy and Gout Gout.
Kennedy, the world indoor 60m silver medallist, combined with Joshua Azzopardi, Christopher Ius and Prince Jackson to clock 38.31sec to claim second place in qualifying round 2 on Sunday night, booking the Aussies a place at the world championships. And with Gout set to feature in the 200m in Tokyo in September, he could be a late addition to the 4x100m team.
"We are really stepping up our standards this year coming off the national record of 37.8 in Sydney," said Azzopardi, who flagged Gout's inclusion in the team in Tokyo. "We feel like we can really push for those medals and that will be the goal. We will be ready come the world championships in September and that's the main thing."
Speaking in an interview on the Back Page on Fox Sports last week, the 17-year-old Gout said he'd love to run in the 4x400m relay as well. Traditionally a 100 and 200m runner, Gout could line up in the men's 4x400m, as well as any of the mixed relays in Tokyo (depending on how many races he wants to run).
On Sunday night, the mixed, women's and men's 4x400m teams all secured their places at the world championships. But pride of place went to the mixed team, with Luke van Ratingen, Ellie Beer, Terrell Thorne and Carla Bull securing the country's second ever silver medal at the World Athletics Relays.
The Aussie team couldn't match the American champions in Guangzhou, for the second day running they lowered the national and Oceanian record to take the silver in 3min 12.20sec. The American quartet of Chris Robinson, Courtney Okolo, Johnnie Blockburger and Lynna Irby-Jackson broke the championship record in 3:09.54, but the Australians matched the nation's best ever result in the seven editions of the event.
The only other silver they had won was in 2019 in Yokohama when Catriona Bisset and Josh Ralph finished second in the 2x400m relay. "I couldn't be any more stoked. We were so ecstatic to make the final and coming away with a silver medal, we are just so happy," said Beer, who earlier helped the women's 4x400m team qualify. "We got all of our 400m crews to the world championships which is so exciting."
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Bull narrowly missed out on another medal as a youthful mixed 4x100m team - including Olivia Dodds, Connor Bond and Josiah John - clocked 41.22sec to finish fourth in the final behind the victorious Canadian team. The men's 4x400m team of Sherman, Reece Holder, Aidan Murphy and Tom Reynolds clocked 2:59.73 to clinch their place in Tokyo, just 0.03sec outside the 41-year-old Australian record.
Britain's 4x100m women's team caused the upset of the night. Nia Wedderburn-Goodison, Amy Hunt, Bianca Williams and Success Eduan stunned the US and Jamaica teams, with the Jamaicans featuring superstars Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson.
with AAP