Gout Gout did not realise the impression of his sprinting profession till his agent instructed him a few profitable endorsement deal that Adidas got here a-knocking with, which has modified his life perpetually
Gout Gout could not fairly consider it when his agent revealed that Adidas had got here calling with an endorsement deal price thousands and thousands. The 17-year-old sprinter has made waves over the previous couple of years within the world of athletics, shattering the Australian males’s U18 200m document at his nation’s Junior Athletics Championships two years in the past with a time of 20.87 seconds.
In the meantime, in December 2024, the teenager secured the second-fastest U18 time in the identical self-discipline on the Australian All Colleges Championships, crossing the road in 20.04s. Not solely did this time surpass the one which eight-time Olympic gold-medalist Usain Bolt achieved throughout his personal youthful years, however it additionally broke the Australian and Oceanian document set by Peter Norman in 1968.
However it appears as if Gout Gout did not fairly perceive the impression he had till curiosity from big-name manufacturers arrived. Just a few weeks after his record-breaking feat, the teenager was instructed a few long-term cope with Adidas that’s considered price thousands and thousands within the coming years.
And chatting with GQ, Gout Gout defined that he was left virtually speechless when his agent, James Templeton, instructed him how a lot he was set to obtain because of this. He defined: “JT instructed me how a lot they had been prepared to pay to get me on their facet.
“It was loopy. The quantity stored getting increased and I realised how a lot these corporations suppose I’m price. However that sponsorship actually helps you get to the following degree as a result of clearly you want the cash to journey and to coach.
“Particularly since I’m in school, so I don’t must go and discover a job at Maccas or no matter to place gasoline in my automobile. It positively helps rather a lot.”
Elsewhere in his interview, the younger sprinter confirmed his true colors by humbly revealing his largest buy since discovering fame and fortune, whereas additionally sharing his long-term plans to assist take care of his household.
He added: “I’ve saved rather a lot and I purchased myself a brand new automobile after I received my Ps, in order that’s in all probability the largest buy I’ve made to date. I have not gone loopy.”
A baby of seven to his mother and father Bona and Monica, who fled South Sudan to resettle in Australia two years earlier than he was born, Gout Gout added: “Long run, I might prefer to set myself up and set my household up.”
Whereas the sprinting prodigy could also be a short while away from making waves on the Olympic Video games, he has already left a sizeable mark in short-distance operating. He achieved a silver medal on the 2024 World Championships in Lima within the 200m, whereas he settled for a fifth-place end within the 4x100m relay of the identical match.
And because of this, Gout Gout has seen himself in comparison with Jamaican legend Bolt time and time once more. Nonetheless, eager to make a reputation for himself, the prodigy has admitted that the comparisons can get a little bit tiring.
He instructed 9 final yr: “My stride size is fairly lengthy, my knee top is fairly excessive and simply the quantity of tallness I get after I’m operating. I am simply me attempting to be me.
“Clearly, I do run like him. I do generally seem like him, however clearly, I am making a reputation for myself, and I feel I’ve finished that fairly effectively. I simply wish to proceed doing that and proceed to be not solely Usain Bolt however proceed to be Gout Gout.”
