AAP
WITH time very much on his side, teenage Ipswich track star Gout Gout is supremely confident he can turn an impressive global championships debut into so much more.
And quickly.
Bidding to become the youngest 200m world championships finalist of all time, Gout finished fourth in his semi in 20.36 seconds on a wet Thursday evening in Tokyo.
The 17-year-old needed to have clocked 19.98 or better to book a spot in Friday’s title race where his friend and mentor Noah Lyles scorched to his fourth consecutive world title.
The American is at the height of his physical powers at the age of 28, while Gout is a lean-framed schoolboy – albeit a ridiculously talented one.
“The biggest eye-opener is knowing that I can compete at a young age against the best men in the world,” he said.
“It definitely makes me hungry, knowing that I’m just a kid right now, but knowing that I can compete as a kid.
“And the thing I have on them is time.
“They may not have 15 years – but I’ve got 15 years.
“I know that if I can do this at 17, then I can do this at 25 and I’ll be even better at 25.”
He’ll be much bigger by then too.
“I can definitely compete with a skinny frame, but getting bigger is one of the things that’s going to help me, especially with my blocks start,” he said.
“Knowing that I can get that strength and execute my race plan even better and get faster times.”
Gout had not shied away from his aim to become the first Australian to break the 20-second barrier in the 200m in Tokyo.
His best time was the 20.23 he clocked in the opening round, quite a way shy of the national record of 20.02 he set earlier this year.
“I’m always hard on myself and obviously I didn’t do sub-20,” he said.
“That wasn’t in God’s plans today but I know that I will do it in the future.
“It’s just a matter of executing the race plan and doing it at a good meet.”
