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Athletics prodigy Gout Gout farewelled his junior career and one of the most dazzling years on the track for an Australian sprinter with sadness and gratitude.
The 17-year-old thanked his coach, Di Sheppard, and Ipswich Grammar school for the wild ride as he signed off as a schoolboy athlete by breaking his own meet record at the GPS Track and Field championships in Brisbane on Friday.
Gout skipped his pet 200m event to run the 400m and 4x100m relay at the meet, and things almost didn’t go to script. Brisbane Grammar’s Seth Kennedy had earlier broken Gout’s 200m GPS record in a stunning 20.64s, and he pushed the Ipswich star to his full capacity in the one-lap event.
Gout broke his own meet record to win in a personal-best 46.14, just a lunge ahead of Kennedy (46.64), who was also under the old mark.
Gout was proud to finish on a high note at the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre, where he first captured the world’s attention.
“This is the place where I found my speed,” he said.
“It definitely feels sad, but I’m definitely grateful.”
It was unclear how much training Gout had under his belt after taking a short break following the world athletics championships.
That he had enough in the tank to fight off such a fierce challenge from the lane next door spoke volumes for his character and professionalism.
“I just can’t wait to go on that next journey. For me, it’s the world stage,” Gout said.
The meet was a landmark for Gout on at least two fronts.
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It was his final appearance in the candy-striped red and white singlet of IGS, the school at which he had set at least five GPS records in a memorable high school career.
It was also a coda to a dizzying 12-month period during which Gout seized the attention of the athletics world.
In December he broke the 56-year-old Australian 200m record set by Peter Norman at the 1968 Mexico Olympics, clocking 20.04 in Brisbane.
In the months that followed he lowered that record to 20.02, dipped under 20 seconds for the 200m and 10 seconds for the 100m (with the help of illegal tailwinds), reached the semi-finals of his pet event at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, and won his first open national title.
