Gout Gout has been enjoying a wealth of success on the running tracks, with his incredibly unique name helping him stand out from the crowd. However, his father has now revealed that the 16-year-old’s title is a result of an administrative error on his birth certificate.
The Australian has been all the rage in the world of athletics, bagging a silver medal in the 200m of the World U20 Championships in Lima this year, while he also holds records at U16 and U18 level. The youngster achieved a time of 10.57 seconds in a 100m event at the age of 14 in 2022, before breaking the U18 men’s 200m record the following year with a time of 20.87 seconds at the Australian Junior Athletics Championships.
Gout Gout, who turns 17 at the end of December, is one of seven children to parents Monica and Bona. However, the youngster was actually supposed to be named Guot.
A mix-up in translation meant that his name instead went down as Gout, as his father told 7 News in Australia: “It’s supposed to be Guot. I know that Gout Gout is a disease name.
“It’s something that’s not acceptable. For me I don’t mind whatever they want to call him, but for me I know his name is Guot.” Despite having the option to change his name by deed poll when he turns 18, Gout Gout seems happy with his moniker – and is reported to have no plans of having the spelling rectified.
The youngster stunned at the Australian All Schools Championships in Brisbane due to his incredible speed and composure under pressure despite his age, and his time of 20.04 in the 200m even surpassed Usain Bolt’s best time of 20.13 at the same age. The performance also marked the fastest 200m time ever recorded by an Austrailian.
While Gout Gout has regularly noted the comparisons between himself and eight-time Olympic gold medallist Bolt, he insists that he hopes to make a name in his own right than simply being compared to the Jamaican. The youngster told Nine: “I do see it [the similarity to Bolt. My stride length is pretty long, my knee height is pretty high and just the amount of tallness I get when I’m running.
“I’m just me trying to be me. Obviously, I do run like him. I do sometimes look like him, but obviously I’m making a name for myself, and I think I’ve done that pretty well. I just want to continue doing that and continue to be not only Usain Bolt but continue to be Gout Gout.”
However, his performances as of late have become so prominent that Bolt himself can’t help but notice Gout Gout. Jumpers World on Instagram uploaded a photo of Gout’s most recent performance, to which, Bolt took to the comments section to write: “He looks like young me.”
Could Gout Gout go on to blister through records currently held by Bolt which are thought to be unbreakable? Only time will tell for the young Australian.