The subways and shopping malls in Tokyo were busy on Monday for the national public holiday to celebrate “respect for the aged dayâ€. Four storeys up, inside Adidas†hospitality fortress a walk from Japanâ€s National Stadium, the sentiment was different. Here, a room filled with international press bowed at the altar of athletics†new prodigy.
Gout Gout, the 17-year-old Australian who will compete in the 200m at the World Athletics Championships on Wednesday, is faster than Usain Bolt was at the same age. His spectacular performances and gleaming grin have swamped social media. And he has been promoted by his sponsor as well as World Athletics as one of the faces of the meet.
Yet when the Ipswich Grammar student walked out to face the cameras from behind the sliding translucent doors adorned with the three stripes at his single pre-meet media engagement, he appeared nervous. Gout put his left hand in his pocket, and offered an awkward smile and hand gesture to the press as he approached the stage. “Itâ€s a long walk,†offered the host, Adidas†senior athletics executive Spencer Nel, in part to ease the tension.
When Gout finally made it to the microphone, he said he was still getting used to the press interest and life as what Nel terms a “next generational iconâ€. Bumping into athletics†A-listers in the championships†hotel was for Gout, “a bit surreal, for realâ€.
The Australianâ€s top-end speed is world class, but he admits his starts need improvement. The same could be said for this Q&A. In excess of two dozen journalists and television crews were in attendance to hear Gout say he is excited to be in Tokyo and is aiming to run faster than he has before.
But once the conversation warmed up, Gout found his stride. He explained his familyâ€s journey from South Sudan to Brisbane – the third largest city in Australia and host of the 2032 Olympics – and he agreed that his trajectory towards those Games had a sense of destiny.
He opened up about how he has been able to find patience despite his near-overnight success. “Balancing that ambition and telling myself it takes time is definitely something important,†he said. “I struggled a bit during the start [of my career] but now I know that things donâ€t happen overnight. Like, Iâ€m only 17.â€
By the end of the 45-minute session, there were many morsels on which the press could feed. Gout said he still shares a room with his older brother, who “probably makes a bigger mess compared to meâ€. He revealed he plays video games Fortnite, Minecraft and Zelda, and was “a hard gamer before I was a track athleteâ€.
In a question from a British journalist about what he does away from the track and whether he will watch cricketâ€s Ashes, Gout was honest: “Iâ€m definitely more a doom-scroller, just TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, and talking to my friends.â€
Goutâ€s on-track accomplishments are generational. He eclipsed Australiaâ€s previous 200m record which had stood for 56 years, and is already the countryâ€s senior national champion. However, three-quarters of an hour with Gout offered more than one reminder of just how young he is.
His favourite food? “Pizza. Oh wait, burgers. Burgers. Burgers.†Favourite drink? Peach iced tea. To a question of what irritates him, the year 12 student genuinely couldnâ€t find an answer, before offering “probably examsâ€.
Yet more enduring personality traits were evident. He praised his parents Bona and Monica as having focus, motivation, integrity and confidence. “All those things theyâ€ve definitely instilled in me,†he said. “Theyâ€re hard working as well, so coming over here Iâ€ve instilled hard work into myself,†he said. He shared insights about his “strong†relationship with coach Di Sheppard, saying “we bring ideas from both endsâ€. And he acknowledged his close connection to American star Noah Lyles, a source of “advice†and “tipsâ€.
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Gout wonâ€t finish his school exams until later this year. He is considering studying psychology at university, to complement his life on the track. He has also cast his mind even further ahead, to what kind of legacy he might leave in athletics.
“Just being someone people can look at [and think] he was good, he was ‘that guyâ€,†he said. “Being an inspiration to people older than me, people younger than me, people the same age, just people that donâ€t even do track potentially, just being able to be that someone who started off as a nobody and became someone really, really good.â€
In Tokyo, Gout is experiencing the full attention of the worldâ€s sporting press for the first time, as part of his arrival on the senior international athletics scene. This was therefore an important milestone in a career widely tipped for greatness.
Nel described Gout afterwards as a “fine young man†and a natural performer. “When you see a young man of 17 up there with the worldâ€s media in front of him, and heâ€s so confident answering the questions thoughtfully and insightfully, I do think heâ€s a precociously special talent.â€
The day finished with Nel reminding those present they could not accommodate one-on-one interviews, and asking press to “leave Mr Gout to have some lunch and spend some time with his Adidas familyâ€. Gout put the microphone down and stepped off the stage. The first person to meet him was Adidas chief executive Bjørn Gulden, who hugged the teenager and told him, “well doneâ€.
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