IPSWICH teen sensation Gout Gout is set to compete in the 143rd edition of Australia’s oldest footrace, the Stawell Gift, this April.
At just 17 years old, Gout will race in the prestigious 120m handicap event, although he will start with a significant handicap.
Due to his past performances, he is expected to start from scratch, a position only two men in the race’s history have managed to achieve.
Australian sprinting legend Josh Ross achieved this feat in 2005, and Jean-Louis Ravelomanantsoa from Madagascar did so in 1975.
In December, Gout broke Peter Norman’s long-standing 56-year-old Australian 200m record at the Australian All-Schools Championships in Brisbane.
Ipswich Athletics President Vic Pascoe said the feat was particularly noteworthy given the rising star was only 16 at the time.
“Breaking a 50-year-old open men’s record is a wonderful thing,” Mr Pascoe said.
Gout also earned a silver medal in the 200m at last year’s World Junior Championships in Peru.
Recently, he returned from a two-week training camp in the US, training alongside Paris Olympics 100m gold medallist Noah Lyles.
On Saturday, just days after declaring his intent to challenge world and Olympic champion Lyles, Gout delivered a stunning performance over 400m at the Joanna Stone Shield meet in Brisbane.
Clocking an impressive 46.20 seconds, he not only ran nearly a second faster than Lyles’ personal best for the distance, but also recorded the fastest Australian under-18 time in 35 years.
Putting his achievement into perspective, the current world-leading 400m time this season stands at 44.97, set by Jamaica’s Zandrion Barnes.
At the same age, reigning Olympic 400m champion Quincy Hall recorded 46.98.
Gout, currently in Year 12 at Ipswich Grammar, has managed to balance his academics with his burgeoning track career, earning a multi-year, multi-million-dollar sponsorship deal with adidas.
The 2025 Stawell Gift will take place on Easter Monday, April 21, a week after the Australian Track and Field Championships in Perth, and Gout is aiming for success at both.
