World Athletics Championships Tokyo 2025 - Men's 200m Semi-Final - Japan National Stadium, Tokyo, Japan - September 18, 2025 Australia's Gout Gout in action during the heats REUTERS/Edgar Su
TOKYO (Reuters) -Gout Gout missed out on the 200 metres final and the sub-20 seconds time he wanted on his world championships debut but the 17-year-old Australian is confident time is on his side.
Appearing at his first major championship, Gout managed only 20.36 to finish fourth in his semi-final after posting 20.23 in his first run at Tokyo.
"It definitely makes you hungry for sure, knowing that I’m just a kid right now but knowing that I can still compete as a kid," Gout said.
"The thing I have on them is I got time. They may not have 15 years, but I’ve got 15 years.
"I know that I can keep running and I know that if I can do this at 17, I can do this at 25 as well, and I’ll be even better at 25 so it’s definitely great to know that."
Gout's debut attracted huge global attention for an athlete who has drawn comparisons to Jamaican great Usain Bolt in his running style and rapid development.
Gout, who has a personal best of 20.02, has a pattern of starting slowly and building pace toward the back end of his races.
In Tokyo, his back-end speed could not make up for his sluggish start but he showed little sign of frustration for what was an underwhelming run by his standards.
The son of South Sudanese immigrants is certain that a sub-20 run is coming and feels bulking up as he matures will get him there faster.
"My whole mindset was going out hard and sticking with them, trying to put the pedal down the home straight," he added.
"I definitely think I did that pretty well. I did my thing, ran that bit hard and came home.
"(I) know that I can execute my race plan even better and get faster. I think obviously my skinny build is who I am but you know, getting stronger is the main focus for sure.
"I know when I get stronger, I can go fast."
(Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
