Teen Sprint Star Gout Gout Breaks National RecordāBut Racist Outrage Overshadows His Glory
Australian teenage sprint prodigy Gout Gout made headlines this week for all the rightāand wrongāreasons. The 17-year-old blazed through the 200m at the Ostrava Golden Spike meet in the Czech Republic, clocking an astonishing 20.02 seconds and smashing his own Australian national record. But as congratulations rolled in, so did a shameful torrent of racist vitriol that has left many Australians outraged.
David Crisafulli, Premier of Queensland, publicly applauded the teen’s groundbreaking performance on social media:
āA Queenslander showing the world how itās done. Congratulations on another incredible run Gout Gout.ā
But instead of universal praise, Crisafulli’s post triggered a disgusting flood of abuse targeting Goutās identity and place of birth. Gout, who hails from Ipswich, a suburb of Brisbane, was attacked by commenters questioning his right to be considered a “true” Queenslander or even Australian. One of the milder slurs read:
āLow bar to qualify as a Queenslander these days.ā
Australiaās Shame: Online Racism Mars Goutās Proudest Moment
Though Daily Mail Australia chose not to publish the worst comments, the tone was clearāand deeply disturbing. Many Australians, however, rushed to defend the young athlete.
āBorn and bred in Queensland. These comments are a joke. Proud of the lad,ā one fan posted.
āGreat achievement! And a great Aussie guy ā this is what our country is built on,ā wrote another.
āHeās an Australian ffs. Fk QLDers are insufferable with this sort of st,ā a third added bluntly.
This wasnāt an isolated incident. The abuse Gout received this week follows a disturbing pattern. In December 2024, athletics commentator Tim Rosen took down a post celebrating one of Goutās runs after it attracted an onslaught of racist replies. That same month, The Age newspaper was forced to apologize after mistakenly identifying Gout as Peter Bolāanother Australian runner who, like Gout, has African heritage.
Gout Goutās Stunning Performance Invites Comparisons to Usain Bolt
Despite the ugliness of the backlash, Goutās athletic achievements are impossible to ignore. Facing the stiffest competition of his budding careerāincluding Cuban sprinter Reynier Mena, a sub-20-second runnerāGout powered through the final 20 metres with unmatched pace and composure.
The teen’s run has sparked early comparisons to sprint legend Usain Bolt, not just for the raw speed, but for the poised confidence Gout displayed under pressure.
āGet some more races in me and it [the 20-second barrier] will drop for sure,ā Gout told reporters after the meet.
āI Just Runā: Gout Gout Responds with Grace and Grit
In the face of hate, Gout remains focused on what matters mostāhis performance.
āI feel good. New personal best, new national record in my first European race,ā he said.
āI donāt feel any pressure, because as soon as I step out on that track, itās just me by myself and what Iāve got to doāmy favourite thing, and thatās to run.
So I just go out there and run and nothing stops me from doing that.ā
Reflecting on his prep and mindset going into the race, he added:
āIāve felt stronger in training these last couple of months and Iāve felt good since I got to Europe last Thursday.
I knew Mena would come hard at me in the first 100, but I was confident Iād be close enough to come home strongly in the second part of the race, which is, of course, my stronger part.
I felt calm but strong as I came off the turn and was confident Iād be strong enough to get the win.
Another national record! Pretty happy with that, itās not a bad first up in Europe!ā
Australiaās Athletic Future Is BrightāBut Its Social Struggles Persist
Gout Goutās emergence as one of the worldās most electrifying young sprinters should be a moment of national celebration. Instead, his success is tarnished by a vocal minority who cannot see past the color of his skin.
As the teen phenom continues to rewrite history on the track, many Australians are demanding the country face a tougher challenge off it: rooting out the racism that continues to shame its sporting culture. In the words of a proud supporter:
āHeās a great Aussie. Full stop.ā
.