Gout Gout’s manager sets 100m, 200m targets this season

Gout Gout’s manager, James Templeton, has thrown his full support behind the rising Australian sprint star as he aims to make history in the 100m and 200m events this season.

If he goes under 10 seconds in the 100m and under 20 seconds in the 200m, he will become the first Australian to have ever done that at the same meet.

Should he achieve this feat, the 17-year-old Queenslander will join the ranks of elite sprinters like Noah Lyles and Letsile Tebogo in the pursuit of Usain Bolt’s long standing 200m world record of 19.19 seconds.

In an interview with Fox Sports, Templeton expressed his belief that Gout has what it takes to reach these milestones.

“It is not impossible. If everything goes his way, I think he has a chance to run under 10 seconds anytime he races. Going under 20 seconds in the 200m, that’s always on the cards,” he said.

Gout, who has been training with Olympic 100m champion Lyles in Florida, is heading into the season feeling stronger and faster than ever.

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“He’s pretty excited. He’s looking forward to getting on the track and seeing what he’s got. Let’s see how the weekend goes,” Templeton added.

The emergence of Gout Gout has ignited excitement within the Australian athletics community, with the upcoming Stawell Gift next month shaping up to be a defining moment in his career.

His season kicks off this weekend in Brisbane as part of a four-meet Australian schedule that balances high-profile open contests with valuable under-20 race experience.

The young sprinter’s potential is undeniable.

His current legal best of 10.17 seconds in the 100m was achieved at the Australian All-Schools Championships in Brisbane last December, where he broke the national U18 record previously held by Sebastian Sultana.

A day later, he ran a blistering 20.04 seconds in the 200m, smashing Peter Norman’s 56-year-old national record, a time that would have placed him sixth in the 200m final at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

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Gout is expected to be among the favorites to win the 100m and 200m at the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo.

The sprinter likened to Bolt is on an upward trajectory, and will be a nightmare to come up against going forward.