A packed Lakeside Stadium for Gout Gout solidifies Athletics Australia’s new era

Stands full, eagerness and the name on everyone’s lips, Gout Gout is single-handedly leading Australian athletics into its new era, and his star power is what the governing body has been desperately searching for.

THE text message came through early Saturday afternoon from a mate who wanted to talk about Gout Gout: “My young fella is 6 and it’s all he’s spoken about all week.”

That one sentence is what Australian Athletics has been desperately searching for over the past couple of decades. Not since Cathy Freeman’s heroics at the Sydney Olympics have people wanted to go to the track to specifically see one person.

Usain Bolt doing a promotional jog at the short-lived Nitro series came close but on Saturday night they had to close the gates at Lakeside Stadium because of a 17-year-old kid.

The VIP function area was full with former stars of Australian track and field, including Freeman, who also didn’t want to miss out on seeing what all the fuss was about.

There were people from all walks of life scattered around the stadium, both young and old, who then as one at 8.55pm rose to their feet when the field for the 200m was at the starting blocks.

Lachlan Kennedy of Queensland beats Gout Gout of Queensland to win the Peter Norman Men 200m Final. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Then everything went silent. And stayed silent. Ten thousand people were holding their breath as the starter clearly had a flair for the dramatic, keeping everyone waiting.

A lone triple-jumper was on the runway on the far side of the stadium and his every step could suddenly be heard clearly through the silence.

Eventually the gun went off and the crowd screamed with excitement. That soon turned to an anxious gasp as Lachlan Kennedy railed like a greyhound around the bend leaving Gout in his wake.

In the Ch 7 commentary box the legendary Bruce McAvaney declared: “Gout has some work to do.”

The script always had Kennedy, who last week won a 60m silver medal at the world indoor championships in China, leading at the bend and Gout surging over the final stages given the back end of his races is his strength.

But this was his first time racing against men and while Kennedy is still very much a young man at 21, he is a hardened tough runner. Normally coming off the bend Gout pounces on his rivals in junior races and then demolishes them, often winning by 30 or 40 metres.

As the Bolt-like long stride kicked in, the crowd’s vibe lifted. With 20m to go they were screaming Gout’s name as he started to close. Could he get there?

A desperate dip on the line wasn’t enough. The margin was a whisker, 0.04sec. Another metre and he would have got there. For a brief moment a sense of shock swept around the stadium.

That soon changed to appreciation. They’d just seen an incredible race and were starting to realise that while they came to see one rising star, they now know Australia has two.

Kennedy is the fastest man in Australia this year, he ran 10.03sec in Perth earlier in the month which is the equal third-fastest in history, level with Matt Shirvington, who ran it in the 100m final at the 1998 Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games.

“It wouldn’t be fun if he just destroyed everyone,” Kennedy said. “I’m sorry if I did spoil it a little bit but what a great race you can’t be upset watching something like that.”

Gout wasn’t happy but he hid it well, hugging Kennedy and then handling the waiting media pack like a veteran. He then did a quick cool down jog by himself to gather his thoughts before throwing himself at the fans who’d lined the fence 10 deep to see him, hamming it up for hundreds of selfies and autographs.

The buzz and excitement was unmatched. Picture: Martin KEEP / AFP

“He’s pissed off, which is good,” his manager James Templeton said.

His coach Di Sheppard was on the same wavelength. “I know he’s quite angry about that [result],” she said.

“For me, that’s going to make him more prepared for going into open nats (national championships).

“So that’s all about learning about competing in different environments and that’s all you can do, just try to get them ready for it.”

A coolish night in Melbourne with a fluctuating wind is a lot different to the heat and humidity in Brisbane where Gout has been breaking his records, notably Peter Norman’s national 200m record from the 1968 Mexico Olympics.

“This is great, this is what you live for, this environment, the hype, the people, the expectation, the people, this is sport right,” Gout said.

Thank you and goodnight 🤯🤯

A sold-out crowd roared inside Melbourne’s Lakeside Stadium tonight, as the Maurie Plant Meet delivered an unforgettable night of world-class athletics, capped off by a spectacular sprint double by Lachlan Kennedy who took down teenage prodigy Gout… pic.twitter.com/f7nKkpUbSx

— Australian Athletics (@AustralianAths) March 29, 2025

His sport has changed forever thanks mainly to him although there were a couple of other teenagers on Saturday night who also provided memorial moments with Cameron Myers, 18, and Claudia Hollingsworth, 19, spectacularly winning the 1500m events.

This comes off the back of seven track and field medals at the Paris Olympics - the most since the 1956 Melbourne Olympics.

The Maurie Plant Meet on Channel Seven had a national reach of 1.21 million viewers, making it the most watched sport on free-to-air TV on Saturday and the third-highest rating program after the Seven and Nine news bulletins.

Now the sport has a legitimate sprint rivalry with the next chapter to be played out at the Australian Championships in Perth on April 13 when Kennedy and Gout meet again over 200m.

And we know what one six-year-old will be doing around dinner time on that Sunday night.

Originally published as A packed Lakeside Stadium for Gout Gout solidifies Athletics Australia’s new era