TEEN FLYER HAS AUSSIES FIRED UP

With comparisons to Usain Bolt, young sprinter Gout has reinvigorated national interest in athletics

The kind of pace that propelled teenage sprinting phenom Gout Gout to break decades-old Australian records and earned him an invitation to train with Olympic champion Noah Lyles ended up costing him in his season finale.

The handicapper's calculations on Monday achieved what few of Gout's rivals could do all southern summer, making it too difficult for the 17-yearold high school senior to win.

As a back marker at the Stawell Gift — a 120-meter handicap race that has been contested every Easter Weekend since 1878 (barring four years during World War II and in 2020 due to COVID-19) on a turf track in the state of Victoria — Gout missed out on the final when he placed second in his semifinal race. Only the heat winners advance.