The sight was, frankly, ridiculous. Crowded around 17-year-old Gout Gout were 30 reporters – most of them middle aged men – asking the year 12 student about a running race. The mass was crammed in tight, sweaty and rich in odour, in a cavern under Japan National Stadium still humid from the day despite a late shower leaving a shimmer on the track.
But this mania is now customary in the age of Gout. The boy himself saw the funny side, giving his first genuine smile amid the madness, when asked what it makes him feel to be the subject of such fascination. “It’s definitely… confidence for sure,” he said.
Seconds after Gout walked off, he was replaced in the same spot by Noah Lyles. The pair have been connected by a mutual sponsor, but in front of the sport’s greatest showman the pack of press actually thinned.
Lyles had just set down a benchmark for the 200m final with a 19.51sec run, the fastest in the world this year, but now appeared even more in his element. After a handful of questions over a jovial two minutes, the American press officer signalled his star athlete could take just one more. Inevitably, its subject was Gout.
“He’s more talented than I was,” Lyles replied, offering a hearty laugh. It seems like everyone this week, from sprint king Usain Bolt, to World Athletics president Sebastian Coe, has been asked for their opinion on the Australian teenager, the youngest competitor in the 200m in Tokyo.
For all the promise the Australian showed in making the semi-finals, his searing times over the past year, and the general public’s obsession with him, it was Lyles’ response that highlighted Gout’s status and the level of respect he has already gained within international track.
The superstar and three-time defending gold medallist began a considered and thoughtful reflection on the teenager’s future, lasting almost a minute. “He’s an amazing kid, he’s got a great head on him, he’s got a great team around him,” Lyles began.
“It’s going to be interesting to see how he develops. The thing that I always look for when I’m looking at younger talent is, ‘hey, are you just going to be able to train into shape?’ Because when you’re in high school, you’re able to just get races all the time whenever you want. But as a pro, you’ve got to come prepared already.
Gout Gout says American Noah Lyles ‘puts me under his wing’ as both make 200m semis – video
“And then, too, just seeing how they put some weight room on him as time develops, naturally, not just like all at once. But again, he’s got a great coach, she’s constantly looking to be a better coach, and she’s constantly looking to be the best for him, so we’ll see. I’d say the future looks bright for him.”
Gout might have grown three centimetres in the past year, but when he walked out from the marshalling area on to the track alongside his semi-final rivals, he was a station wagon among SUVs. His ability to beat many of them already, despite their massive physical advantage, is a revelation Gout is only beginning to appreciate. “The biggest eye-opener is knowing that I can compete at the young age I am, against the best men in the world,” he said.
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“The thing that I have on them is time. They may not have 15 years, but I’ve got 15 years for sure. So I know that I can keep running, and I know that if I can do this at 17, I could do this at 25 as well, and I’ll be even better at 25.”
He didn’t mention it explicitly, but the reference was clear. Gout will be 24 when the Olympics roll through Brisbane. The teenager likes using the phrase “add fuel to my fire” in his media engagements, but for his own personal inferno the promise of 2032 is the most powerful accelerant of all.
The Sydney 2000 Olympics celebrated their 25th anniversary this week with a celebratory dinner inside the stadium at Homebush. There was Cathy Freeman, Ian Thorpe and, yes, Nikki Webster. These identities defined a generation of Australians, and Gout is on a similar path.
Tokyo was but a step, and though Gout’s stride was firm in making the semi-finals and surviving the publicity bonanza, it’s clear the burden will get no lighter. His discussions with media rarely delve beyond his preferred tone of sprint swagger mixed with schoolyard slang, but he offered his career’s most telling insight just before he wandered out the door. Was there too much expected of him?
“I definitely think I put more expectation on myself than the whole country does on me, so I think that’s one of the things I’ve got to chill out,” he said. But he went on to say that harnessing the pressure and applying it equally to his training and races, he believes, will make him go faster. “It’s definitely a super power.”
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