By Scott Spits
Australian sprint sensation Gout Gout is poised to be a headline act at next year’s Maurie Plant Meet, the annual outdoor track and field event held at Melbourne’s Lakeside Stadium.
As sports fans continue to digest the 16-year-old’s stunning record-breaking 200-metre victory at the Australian All-Schools championship on Saturday, the country’s newest sporting hero took time out on Tuesday to take in some adulation from young fans and have a brief training session with Australian teammate and middle distance runner Peter Bol.
Gout has a few more weeks before he turns 17 and has year 12 school commitments next year, but his plans for 2025 already have a different complexion.
After he burnt through his 200m final in 20.04 seconds at the weekend – breaking Peter Norman’s 56-year-old Australian record – athletics aficionados across the globe are quickly learning about the teenager from Ipswich.
Olympic great and three-time 100m gold medallist Usain Bolt has woken up to Gout’s potential. For the Jamaican, it took just five words. “He looks like young me,” Bolt wrote on Instagram.
Gout and Bol were at George Knott Reserve in Clifton Hill on Tuesday, taking part in a light training session, otherwise known as a “shakedown” session.
Peter Bol and Gout Gout at the George Knott Reserve for some promotional filming.Credit: Eddie Jim
The two Australian runners met at last February’s Maurie Plant Meet in Melbourne and share adidas as a sponsor.
Gout’s manager, James Templeton, confirmed that the athlete, who is Australian born but of South Sudan heritage, was tracking towards competing at next year’s Maurie Plant event, to be held in March.
Gout and Bol – the 30-year-old Australian who narrowly missed a bronze medal in the 800m at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 – were reunited by adidas for a photo and video shoot.
The teenage sprint star will take a short break before travelling to the United States to train alongside Olympic 100m champion Noah Lyles.
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