The schoolboy’s rapid rise has drawn inevitable comparisons with the Jamaican, but the sprint great’s heir apparent is taking it all in his stride
He’s 16 and hyped as Usain Bolt’s successor – but Australia’s Gout Gout is keeping his feet on the ground
That was all Adidas needed to see to sign him to a professional contract in October, but he underlined his potential less than a week later whenat the Queensland All Schools Athletics Championships in Brisbane. That run, an Australian under-18 and under-20 record, was the fastest by any Australian for more than 30 years and boosted him to fourth on the national all-time list, almost within striking distance of 1968 Olympic silver medallist Peter Norman’s revered benchmark of 20.06s.
“We both knew it was a significant moment, but we also understood that it was just one part of a much longer path,” she says. Sheppard has history as a talent spotter, having guided another Sudanese-Australian teenager Joseph Deng into the sport 10 years earlier. Deng went on to break the long-standing Australian 800m record and was a Paris Olympian this year. Despite her excitement about Gout’s potential, Sheppard reeled him into athletics slowly. For the first eight months, he trained only twice a week and continued to play football. Then she sat him down and told him: “Dude, I think you can go all the way.
His naturally laidback personality has helped in that endeavour. “He’s a very easygoing, happy kid,” Sheppard says. “He’s extremely good to have around our squad because he’s always upbeat.”
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