Gout Gout’s sprint style: Top-end speed
Gout has been pretty unlucky with the wind in his young career. He has run two sub-10-second 100m races in Australia, but neither count as his personal best due to illegal tailwinds greater than +2.0m/s, which is the limit at which records can be recognised.
And when he has looked fast on his own accord, he has often found himself running into the opposite problem: strong headwinds slowing him. That was the case again Friday, when he had a -1.9m/s wind against him.
“Those are the things you’ve just got to compete against,” he reflected. “Those are the things you can’t control, you’ve just got to go out there, and try your best, whatever the conditions are, you’ve just got to go out there and run.”
Gout came from behind to win his Monaco race, finding himself third with 90m to go before finding his very fastest to cross the line first.
“My top-end speed is my secret, so I’ve just got to focus on the first 100, first 50, and once I get out of that bend, I know I can run people down,” he said.
Gout was cheered loudly by a knowledgeable Monaco crowd when introduced for the under 23 race. Even with just two European races under his belt, he is already fast building a name for himself.
There are rumours that Gout has been approached to be part of a special sprint race at the AFL Grand Final in Australian football, set to take place the week after the 200m event at the World Championships.
While he didn’t mention if it would interest him, that would surely be a chance to grow the Gout Gout hype even more.
For now, though, it’s back to Ipswich Grammar.