Gout Gout: Story behind his rise, timeline, what experts say
He’s an Olympic champion-in-waiting, a promoter’s dream and a national cult hero – at just 17 Gout Gout already needs little introduction. SPECIAL REPORT
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He’s an Olympic champion-in-waiting, a promoter’s dream and a national cult hero – at just 17 Gout Gout already needs little introduction.
The Ipswich sprint sensation has turned heads and toppled rivals at breakneck speed in recent years, quickly becoming the poster boy for Aussie athletics.
Even sprint king Usain Bolt has taken notice of Gout, adding to his glittering reputation as the world continues to watch.
This is the story of his rise >>>
Who is Gout Gout?
Born December 29, 2007 in Ipswich, Queensland to father Bona and mother Monica, Gout is one of seven kids in the family, including twin girls.
Brother Mawien was born in South Sudan before the family headed to Egypt where their first daughter, Achel, was born.
In 2006 they moved to Australia – Canada was the other option – and settled in Brisbane, where Gout was born the following year.
“I think because my parents’ friends were all moving to Australia and they felt Australia had better opportunities so they moved together,” he said in 2024.
“I think if I had moved there (to Canada) it would definitely be a different life.”
Growing up as a football fan – Cristiano Ronaldo was his favourite player – Gout focused his attention on athletics as he rose through Ipswich Grammar School.
“As parents, we are very proud of Gout and love to see him chasing his dreams,’’ Monica and Bona Gout said in September 2024.
“From a young age, we saw him running around. He loved playing soccer, loved running, and always admired Cristiano Ronaldo. He is a very sweet boy, talented, a wonderful sibling, and always pushes himself to achieve his goals.’’
Gout Gout’s parents said they had been surprised by the success of their son since he focused on athletics in 2020-21.
Bona, who studied law back in his homeland, has worked many jobs, sometimes up to three at a time, to support the family.
He is currently a food technician during the day at a local hospital and an Uber driver by night. Gout’s mother works as a cleaner.
“I have seen what they do and I’ve definitely got a good work ethic off my parents,” Gout said. “They want their kids to be successful … we really want to make them proud.”
What’s in a name?
The manager of Gout in December 2024 moved to clear up the confusion around the teen’s name.
Though in a way, he only made it worse.
Gout’s father Bona told Channel 7 his son’s name was actually Guot (pronounced ‘Gwot’), and he was keen to move away from the name Australians had come to know.
But despite Gout’s dad’s comments, his manager James Templeton declared the name would remain.
“Firstly, it is Gout Gout,” Templeton told SEN’s The Run Home.
“I know there’s been a bit of discussion, and I know his dad made a few comments, but Gout Gout is how it’s gonna be. Categorically, it’s Gout Gout.”
Early steps into athletics
Gout, attending Ipswich Grammar School in Year 7, created a stir following the recommendation of a friend who played in his football team.
Athletics wasn’t on his radar but that changed dramatically when he tagged along with some mates and lined up in the 100m at a school carnival.
“At the grade seven carnival I was versing the national under-13 silver medallist and I beat him,” Gout said in 2024. “And then the coach was like, ‘Ahhhhh, I want this kid’.
“Until then I was just the regular kid running around playing football and other sports, and wasn’t anything special. There were kids way quicker than me back then.”
Coach Di Sheppard was taken by what she saw in Gout, and her sell for switching to athletics was a knockout.
“Coach told me I could win an Olympic medal, that’s how she sold it to me when I was in grade seven,” Gout says. “I looked at her and was like, ‘What?’ But she said definitely and I’m like, ‘OK, well let me try then’.”
He started by dominating the GPS private schools competition.
“I was a nobody and I came out and won the 100m, 200m, came third in the 400m and won the relay,” Gout said.
In Year 9 he started training fully for track and field and at the Queensland junior championships ran 10.95sec in the 100m as a 14-year-old.
He went to the Australian junior championships in Sydney and disappointed, coming sixth in the 100m and fourth in the 200m.
Later in the season at the national All-Schools championships, he won the sprint double and broke the 200m record.
“That was the turning point,” he said. “I definitely didn’t like getting beaten, it’s not something I enjoy.”
That YouTube video
Gout cemented his status as a future superstar by breaking the Australian under-18 men’s 200m record in April 2023.
The teenage prodigy, who only turned 15 in December, clocked 20.87sec in the under-18 men’s 200m final at the Australian Junior Athletics Championships in Brisbane.
Despite bring considerably younger than his rivals and running into a slight headwind, Gout bettered the previous record by 0.03s, which was jointly held by Darren Clark, Paul Greene and Zane Branco.
“I was really nervous. The gun went, and I was good and I just kept pushing. It’s like you can’t feel any ground contact, it feels like you are floating,” he said at the time.
His heroics continued the following day, winning the under-18 men’s 100m final with a time of 10.50s.
A video of Gout setting a personal best of 10.29 at the Queensland Athletics Championships in March 2024 went viral around the world on social media, collecting more than a million views on Instagram and YouTube.
“Everyone started to know me after that,” Gout said.
They knew a lot more after the world junior championships in Peru in August 2024 – Gout’s time of 20.60sec was the fastest run by a 16-year-old at the event, bettering Usain Bolt.
“I’m just trying to be Gout Gout. Obviously I do run like him and I do sometimes look like him, but obviously I’m making a name for myself,” he said at the time.
Bolt from the blue
The comparisons to Bolt aren’t just fleeting – even the sprint king himself anointed Gout as mini-me.
The fastest man in history in December 2024 delivered a powerful five-word statement about the Queenslander.
Jumpers World posted a picture of Gout flexing his biceps with the winning time of 20.04sec alongside the comment: “He is out of this world.”
To which Bolt simply replied: “He looks like young me.”
Gout reposted the photo to his Instagram story with a fire emoji.
Athletics Australia president and Olympian Jane Flemming has been among the figures to make the Usain Bolt comparison.
“It’s pretty cool because Usain Bolt is arguably the greatest athlete of all time and just being compared to him is a great feeling,” Gout said at the national championships in April 2024.
Australian athletics great Sally Pearson also said “maybe we are seeing the next Usain Bolt” when asked about Gout.
John Steffensen in December 2024 declared Gout a “legitimate world player” who can become the next Bolt.
Gout told Fox Sports that being compared to Bolt was a “great feeling”.
“I’m trying to make a name for myself. If I can get to the level he was, that would be a great achievement,” he said.
Dealing with fame
Gout laughs about the notoriety which has started to come his way.
“It gets hectic,” he said in 2024.
Monica and Bona said the Ipswich Grammar School community had “definitely helped him’’. “What Gout has achieved couldn’t have happened without the support of this community.,” they said in 2024.
In particular, they said IGS track and field coach Diane Sheppard had played a huge part for their son.
Track and field doyen Bruce McAvaney in November 2024 said Australia has never seen anything like Gout Gout, calling his “rare gift” comparable to Sydney Olympic champion Cathy Freeman.
“Has there been anyone more exciting?” McAvaney said.
“Freeman was, but he’s at a more mature stage than Cathy was at 16.
“We have never had anyone quite like him and the potential is unique within this country I think.
“ … There is no question he (Gout) has caught the world’s attention.”
US track great Michael Johnson in December 2024 hailed Gout as a “serious talent’ but it came with a warning.
“The track community is getting very excited about him and I hope the track community takes care of him, too,” he said.
“I think about two things with him that sit alongside each other – his amazing talent and his mental health. I hope the best for him in reaching his potential and the best for him in the journey not being made more difficult than it needs to be.”
Gout, meanwhile, has taken much in his stride.
“It’s definitely crazy. I mean, I was a nobody and now I’m someone so I don’t want to be cocky or be something crazy,” he said.
How quick can he go?
“Sub-10 will definitely happen, yeah,” Gout said in December 2024 of the magical 100m barrier.
Coach Sheppard is just as direct.
“We talk about it because to us it’s a given (that he breaks 10 seconds),” she said.
“But to us it’s over here, when it happens it happens, and if it happens early … because everything’s happening sooner than we expected.”
When the 2032 Brisbane Olympics are raised – when Gout will be 24 and should be at the peak of his powers – there is another water-choking moment.
“We’re aiming for double gold, that’s the plan in Brisbane,” Sheppard declared.
In February 2025 Gout told the world’s fastest man, Noah Lyles, to watch out for him.
“I am trying to show you what’s up. I am trying to come out with a bang,” Gout said to Lyles.
Lyles replied: “C’mon don’t be scared to tell me your dreams, shout them from the top of the mountain. Come after me.”
Veteran commentator Bruce McAvney, though, issued a warning.
“The world is at his feet, we haven’t had anyone like him in Australia,” he said in 2024.
“But the challenge for him and his handlers is the fact there will be a plateau, a dip at some stage.
“Bolt went through this, they all go through this.
“Sprinting is a very, very fragile game and there are some years where things just don’t quite go right.”
World Athletics president Sebastian Coe also urged caution.
“We have to be realistic about this. The vast majority of people who win world junior titles don’t go on to compete for their national team at senior level,” he said.
“This is a rare and precious talent that will need nurturing and protecting.”
What’s to come
Gout reinforced his growing reputation in October 2024 when he turned professional, signing a contract with sportswear manufacturer Adidas.
“I’m not stopping here. I’ll work so hard to repay the faith they have shown me,” he told Citius Mag.
“I’ll stay hungry and chase down what’s next.”
Simon Hollingsworth, chief executive of Athletics Australia, said it is difficult to predict how young athletes will progress but it is possible Gout could get faster.
“Raw speed in the under 18 and 20 ages is a great asset to build on through good coaching and development,” he said.
“Most sprinters peak in their mid-20s and sometimes later.”
In November 2024 long-time commentator Bruce McAvaney said Gout was at the forefront of an exciting new era for Australian athletics.
“Our athletes are demanding world attention, and I firmly believe the sport is heading for a golden age,” he said.
Veteran News Corp sports reporter Robert Craddock in December 2024 said Gout can be the face of 2032.
“The Sydney Olympics had Cathy Freeman. The Brisbane Olympics could have Gout Gout.
“Age 24. In the prime of his career. A sublime chance for success in two sprint events where Australia fantasises about getting a finalist never mind a medal winner,” he wrote.
“You almost don’t want to say it out loud for fear of putting yet another layer of pressure on someone who still has a year of school to go but every Olympics needs local superstar and we might have found our man. Gout Gout is different.”
Originally published as Gout Gout: Story behind his rise, timeline, what experts say
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