Gout Gout: Australia’s 'Next Usain Bolt' Lands $150,000 Windfall as He Prepares for First Race in Europe
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Australian teen sensation Gout Gout has received a major shot in the arm after a local businessman committed $150,000 to him to boost his preparations for the rest of his season.
The 17-year-old, who has earned comparisons with legendary Jamaican Usain Bolt for his knack of breaking records, has seen Australian businessman Sandy McGregor back him big to go on and achieve even bigger things this year with his first race in Europe set to take place in June while he will also be at the 2025 World Championships.
According to Australian outlet Wide World of Sports, McGregor, who paid Gout Gout $50,000 to run at the Stawell Gift where he was beaten at the semi-final this month, is betting big on the young sprinter’s career as he feels he can go on to do wonders.
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"He's exciting, he deserves it [the funding], and we're all hoping he gets to Europe and performs the way he's been performing in Australia," McGregor told Wide World of Sports.
"It's an ongoing sponsorship to support team Gout. Originally, I put money towards the district first and Gout second, and now that it was a success [at the Stawell Gift], he deserves a bit more support until he gets himself more firmly entrenched in the system."
Gout Gout will be on a tour of Europe in June, when he will run the 200m at the Ostrava Golden Spike, his first-ever race on the continent, and there is also another event at a yet to be revealed venue, before he heads to Japan in September for the World Championships.
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The Queensland native continues living up to the hype after clocking a sub-10 in 100m at the Australian Athletics Championships in Perth early this month, managing 9.99 wind-assisted times twice in the heats.
It added onto a catalogue of junior records that he has broken, including an Australian record of 20.04 seconds in 200m, clocked in Brisbane in December 2024, and a wind-assisted 19.98 seconds over the distance, also clocked in the same city in March 2025.