Standout teenage sprinter seems to be like a star within the making, however let’s give him room to develop reasonably than piling on the strain, writes Katharine Merry
Even earlier than this yr began, we got one more reason to get enthusiastic about what may lie forward for the game of athletics. He may solely just lately have celebrated his seventeenth birthday however already Gout Gout has properly and actually made headline information.
In case you haven’t heard, this son of South Sudanese dad and mom who was born in Brisbane has been placing in some scorching performances in his homeland. On the Australian All Faculties Athletics Championships in December he ran a wind-assisted 10.04 within the 100m heats, the fourth-fastest time in historical past for an beneath 18. His authorized time of 10.17 in successful the ultimate by the proverbial nation mile put him sixth on the all-time listing.
His subsequent efficiency within the 200m, breaking Peter Norman’s 56-year-old nationwide file of 20.07 – set in the course of the Black Energy salute remaining on the 1968 Olympics – with a run of 20.04 induced much more of a stir.
Fairly rightly, everyone seems to be getting very enthusiastic about him and, predictably, the comparisons with Usain Bolt have flooded in. Even the good man himself has famous the similarities. To start with, there are the fast occasions, however his approach is comparable too and he’s additionally tall, skinny and gangly, because the younger Bolt was, plus he’s doing what Usain did in ripping up the file books.
Gout Gout (Getty)
I’ve been massively impressed by the footage of Gout’s wins and his velocity in a straight line, flying away from the opposition within the closing levels, is completely phenomenal. To my eye, his type seems to be fairly sound technically and once you add in the truth that he’s an honest starter too then he’s arriving within the highlight from a really, superb place.
He’s nonetheless a way wanting the completed article, although, and there’s a lot improvement for him to undergo. One space I feel he must tidy up on is operating the bend within the 200m. He’s 6ft 2in in the intervening time and he hasn’t stopped rising but. Working the bend is rarely a simple factor to do once you’re tall and from what I’ve seen it seems to be like he’s going to should be taught to barter it as finest he can in races, reasonably than having the ability to bulldoze his approach via it within the method that an athlete of shorter stature with a decrease centre of gravity may be capable of.
Michael Norman is a rarity in being tall but in addition being able to run his bends in a approach that’s tidy and compact however nonetheless fast. I feel if Gout can comply with that instance and tidy that space up a bit then it would make a distinction – however it would come over time, via expertise and elevated energy.
Gout appears to have an excellent assist community already within the type of his coach Di Sheppard, who has executed an excellent job thus far, and his supervisor James Templeton. He’s not on account of race once more till March, too, so I’m actually happy to see that he isn’t being rushed.
Gout Gout, Bayanda Walaza, Jake Odey-Jordan (World Athletics)
I’m very enthusiastic about what Gout may be able to however, as with all younger athlete rising on to the scene, I’ve to sound a be aware of warning. We’ve been right here earlier than – what number of athletes have been dubbed ‘the following Bolt’ in recent times? – so let’s not get carried away and heap a lot of strain on to his teenage shoulders earlier than his profession has even actually received out of the beginning blocks.
I’ll say, although, that his performances have been nice at bringing a little bit of media consideration again in direction of athletics throughout what’s a quieter time of yr on the monitor. When the stadium doorways are closed in Europe and the indoor season is but to get absolutely underway, it has been improbable to see the game within the information and for such optimistic causes. Right here’s hoping Gout can experience that wave of positivity.
Already that is turning into an attention-grabbing yr for athletics. We have now the World Championships as the principle occasion – and who isn’t wanting ahead to seeing that Tokyo Olympic Stadium stuffed with spectators ultimately? It is going to be very totally different from once I was there stadium saying on the delayed Olympics, commentating in a masks and dropping off a Covid check each morning on the stadium gates!
But it surely seems like the broader panorama is about to begin shifting. This yr we’ll get our first style of Michael Johnson’s Grand Slam Monitor enterprise that has been attracting so many massive names and appears set to offer what I feel is a few wholesome competitors to the Diamond League.
I do know Michael has are available for some criticism about there being no area occasions concerned within the collection, however I’ve sympathy for him on this regard. He’s sticking to what he is aware of and really placing his head above the parapet, attempting to do one thing totally different and take the game ahead. He’s damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t.
World Athletics need to put innovation entrance and centre, too, and I don’t have an issue with that, so long as it’s some tinkering and experimentation reasonably than main surgical procedure. There’ll all the time be individuals who don’t like change however my view is that the core of the game is all the time going to be there and can nonetheless be the muse stone. It’s not like we’re about to begin operating the 350m at main championships, for instance!
At its coronary heart, athletics remains to be going to be the identical so let’s hope that we’ll have loads to look again on with satisfaction come the shut of 2025.
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