Australian Teen Sprinter Gout Gout Credits Coach Di Sheppard for Record-Breaking Rise

Australian sprinter Gout Gout figured he was in trouble six years ago when his school's track coach called him over. But Di Sheppard had spotted his talent while he ran with friends at Ipswich Grammar School in Queensland. Now 18, Gout has collected trophies, medals, national and world records.

"It's a pretty crazy dynamic when you think about it. The old White lady and a young Black kid, you know? It's a crazy dynamic," Gout said. "But turns out it works perfectly, and I wouldn't have it any other way."

Son of South Sudanese immigrants and one of seven children, Gout met Sheppard, who lacked formal track experience when she joined the school. "I looked at him and just went, 'Oh my God.' Something just gut punchy. It was just like, 'This kid's the real deal,'" said Sheppard, a grandmother in her 60s.

She promised the headmaster she would turn Gout into a star. "He thought I was mucking around," she said. Sheppard has coached him exclusively ever since. "Our personalities kinda filter off each other," Gout said. "We're all on the same level, and we're all learning. So it's a great relationship."

As Gout's profile grew, so did the scrutiny. "I don't like the attention. It's not my cup of tea. Gout handles it totally different to me. But good cop, bad cop," Sheppard said. Brands took notice, with an Adidas deal reportedly paying Gout more than $4 million over eight years. Sheppard dismissed concerns about money straining their bond. "I think the only time we'll have trouble is if it's a girl that I don't like," she said.

Sheppard guided Gout through puberty and physical changes. When they met, he walked on his toes; she spent six months retraining his gait to land on his heels. "He's a kid. And he's got so much more physical development," she said. "He only really hit puberty in the last 12 to 18 months, basically."

At 6 feet tall and under 150 pounds, Gout's build suits longer distances more than the 200-meter sprint. He struggles off the blocks but shines in mid-race speed endurance, holding about 25 mph. Sheppard frets over injury or burnout risks, as sprinters peak in their mid-20s. "If I tried to make him super quick now I'd break him," she said.

Dylan Hicks, a movement scientist at Flinders University in Adelaide, analyzed Gout's style in a recent sprinting paper. "And he creates the height. So we see him sort of bouncing his way down the track and using less steps than everybody else," Hicks said. Gout releases explosive energy from his Achilles tendons effectively.

In December 2024, at 16, Gout ran 20.04 seconds in the 200-meter dash at the Australian secondary school championships, the fastest time in Australian history. That beat a mark from the 1968 Olympics and Usain Bolt's 2003 world age-group record, set by the Jamaican eight-time Olympic gold medalist.

"My first couple steps I had a good start. And if I have a good start, you know, it's kind of over. Because my top-end speed is great. And once I get into top-end speed, I'm flying," Gout said.

Last fall at 17, he placed fourth in his semifinal at the Track World Championships in Tokyo. Last month in Sydney, Gout clocked 19.67 in the 200 meters, the fastest by any teenager ever. That time would have earned Olympic bronze in 2024.

Gout eyes medals at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. At 24, he will hit prime sprinting age for the 2032 Games in Brisbane, his hometown. "It's crazy to think about how you want to run as fast as possible but you don't want to overload too much when you're a teenager because then that messes up the rest of your career," he said. "Like, you know, you got all the time in the world."

Gout graduated from Ipswich Grammar in December with straight A's. He trains with local kids, not an elite group. He and Sheppard see it as ideal preparation for the Olympics. "This is what I was pretty much put onto this Earth to do, and that's what I'm doing," Gout said.