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Daily Mirror
05-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mirror
Gout Gout's coach doesn't mince her words as she tells 17-year-old harsh truth
Sprinter Gout Gout is aiming to become a household name in athletics, but the 17-year-old's coach Di Sheppard has warned that he will have to give up a lot to get there Gout Gout has been given a stark warning by his coach, Di Sheppard, that his life won't be like that of an average 17-year-old, with socialising off the cards for the time being. The teenage sprinting sensation is making waves in the sprinting world, having already won a national championship and seemingly on the fast track to international fame in athletics. But it's not all about speed on the track; there's a lot of sacrifice involved too, and coach Sheppard is determined to prepare Gout for a future filled with victories. Speaking to The Guardian, she praised the young athlete's "emotional intelligence" but stressed that his "massive ability" means he'll have to let go of typical teenage experiences. Sheppard said: "I've been telling him for a couple of years that when we get to a set point, your social life will be pretty much non-existent, in the sense you just can't go out where you want. "He's at that point pretty much now, which is kind of tough when you think he's still at school." Sheppard also emphasised the importance of Gout keeping his eyes on the prize, with the 2032 Olympic Games in Brisbane as his ultimate target – a stage where he dreams of sweeping the medals and shattering records. She added: "Things will plateau, that's a natural part. It has to come to a, 'Bang, OK, now we've got to find our next adaption phase to go up'. "For us to go to the top – we're still a long way from there – and because we know that's our end goal, we don't get too wrapped up into the good things that come. They're stepping stones, and that's how I've tried to teach Gout. There's no clear path up." Gout has his sights set on Olympic glory and is also on track to challenge more of Usain Bolt's legendary sprint records. Gout has already taken Bolt's record for the fastest 200 metres by a 16-year-old, clocking an astonishing 20.04 seconds at the Australian All Schools Championships in 2024. This feat not only surpassed Bolt's 2003 time of 20.13 seconds but also shattered Peter Norman's Oceanian record of 20.06 seconds, which had been unchallenged since 1968. But Gout isn't stopping there; he is aiming for Bolt's 100m record next. The athlete already shown promise with two sub-10-second runs at the Australian Athletics Championships earlier this year - although they were wind-assisted, meaning they don't officially count. Bolt's 100m world record of 9.58 seconds was set at the age of 22 years old - and Gout is not far behind with an unofficial 9.99 seconds right now. The Australian's performances at a much younger age hint at the potential for him to topple the Jamaican sprint king's record in the not-too-distant future.
The Guardian
15-03-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Unruffled, unstoppable: Gout Gout's sparkling summer continues with 100m title in Brisbane
Untapered, unruffled and unstoppable, sprinter Gout Gout has continued his sparkling summer by adding another title to his cabinet at the Queensland Athletics Championships in Brisbane. Three months after breaking the Australian 200m record at the same track, the teenager warmed up for the Maurie Plant meet in Melbourne by claiming the state under-20 100m crown on Saturday. He revealed he has been targeting the meet on March 29 for something special so he is in the middle of a heavy training block. Still, the 17-year-old clocked 10.39 seconds into a slight headwind in his heat before running 10.38 seconds in the final. 'It's one of the top 10 times of my career, so I couldn't be happier,' he said. The Queensland sprinter set a wind-assisted 10.04 seconds personal best at the Australian All Schools Championships in Brisbane last year. His top legal time is 10.17 which puts him in the selection frame for the world championships in Japan in September. Gout recently returned from a Florida training camp where he trained with Olympic champion Noah Lyles and the American's coach Lance Brauman. The gains he made in that brief stint were not so much physical. He concentrated on adding psychological muscle to an already impressive mindset that has had to cope with extraordinary public focus. Although still at school, he is racing against men, has signed a long-term sponsorship deal with sportswear giant Adidas and faces enormous expectation every time he competes. Sign up to Australia Sport Get a daily roundup of the latest sports news, features and comment from our Australian sports desk after newsletter promotion The experience with Lyles exposed him to a larger-than-life character with a proven record for converting pressure into stellar performance. 'I just learned to be myself and follow my processes,' Gout said. 'You can do all the work in the world but if you're in good mental shape you'll be right.' Gout's immediate target will be his first 200m race of the season at the Queensland Championships in Brisbane on Sunday. In December last year the teenage sprinting sensation put the world on notice when he broke the Australian 200m sprint record set by Peter Norman 56 years ago – at just a month shy of 17. That time would've seen him finish sixth in the final of the event at the Paris Olympics last year. Only one other Australian, Patrick Johnson, has a time under 10 seconds over 100 metres. Johnson's 9.93 seconds, set in 2003, remains the benchmark. Gout Gout isn't the only young gun firing Australian athletics to new sprint heights. Fellow Queenslander Lachlan Kennedy clocked an eye-catching 10.03 seconds at the Perth Track Classic earlier this month. The 21-year-old Kennedy, Rohan Browning, Sebastian Sultana, Joshua Azzopardi and Jacob Despard all have faster times over the distance than Gout. Gout could yet face that quintet at the Stawell Gift on Easter Monday.
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Another title win for sprint sensation Gout Gout
Untapered, unruffled and unstoppable, sprinter Gout Gout has continued his sparkling summer by adding another title to his cabinet at the Queensland Athletics Championships in Brisbane. Three months after breaking the Australian 200m record at the same track, the teenager warmed up for the Maurie Plant meet in Melbourne by claiming the state under-20 100m crown on Saturday. He revealed he has been targeting the meet on March 29 for something special so he is in the middle of a heavy training block. Still, the 17-year-old clocked 10.39 seconds into a slight headwind in his heat before running 10.38 seconds in the final. "It's one of the top 10 times of my career, so I couldn't be happier," he said. The Queensland sprinter set a wind-assisted 10.04 seconds personal best at the Australian All Schools Championships in Brisbane last year. His top legal time is 10.17 which puts him in the selection frame for the world championships in Japan in September. Gout recently returned from a Florida training camp where he trained with Olympic champion Noah Lyles and the American's coach Lance Brauman. The gains he made in that brief stint were not so much physical. He concentrated on adding psychological muscle to an already impressive mindset that has had to cope with extraordinary public focus. Although still at school, he is racing against men, has signed a long-term sponsorship deal with sportswear giant Adidas and faces enormous expectation every time he competes. The experience with Lyles exposed him to a larger-than-life character with a proven record for converting pressure into stellar performance. "I just learned to be myself and follow my processes," Gout said. "You can do all the work in the world but if you're in good mental shape you'll be right." Gout's immediate target will be his first 200m race of the season at the Queensland Championships in Brisbane on Sunday.
