‘Gout Gout or Guot Guot’: Aussie teen sensation’s father reveals the young talent’s real name | Sport-others News
He might have hit headlines after his record 100m run of 10.04 seconds (not counted due to tailwind) along with the 200m record of 20.04 seconds in the Australian School Athletics Championship last week, but it has emerged that 16-year-old Gout Gout is not named as the bib and records show. The 16-year-old, whose timing of 20.04 seconds in the 200m run at the championship meant that he broke Peter Norman’s record of 20.06 second set at 1968 Olympics, is known as Guot as per records and is pronounced ‘Gwot” according to his father.
“His name is Guot, it’s supposed to be Guot. When I see people called him Gout Gout I’m not really happy for him. I know that Gout Gout is a disease name but I don’t want my son to be called a disease name … it’s something that’s not acceptable,” Gout’s father Bana told Australia’s Seven network.
The Queensland born teenager of South Sudan heritage had first made a 100m run of 10.04 seconds with an illegal wind speed in the heats meaning that record did not stand on Friday. The youngster then clocked 10.17 seconds in the 100m final on Friday night to win the Australian U-18 title with the title of fastest U-18 Australian event and moving to sixth spot on the all-time l. He then broke Norman’s long held record in 200m with a timing of 20.04 seconds in the 200m final on Saturday to break the 56-year-old record.
As per Seven, Gout’s father Bono explained that Guot became Gout due to an Arabic spelling make when the family had fled Sudan to Egypt. The family then had planned to go to Canada before their Australian documents arrived first and the family settled in Brisbane. Gout was born in Ipswich, Queensland in 2007 after the family’s arrival in Australia. “For me, I don’t mind. Whatever they want to call him, let them call him. But for myself, I know his name is Guot. That is my name myself. His mum is [also] calling him Guot.” Bana further said.
Earlier this year, Gout had won a silver medal with a personal best of 20.60 seconds in the 20om final at the U20 World Championships in Lima, Peru and there were comparisons with former Olympic champion Usain Bolt. Gout bettered Bolt’s U2- record timing of 20.61 seconds, which the Jamaicain had made in 2002 at the age of 15.
“I do see it (comparison with Bolt). My stride length is pretty long, my knee height is pretty high and just the amount of tallness I get when I’m running. I’m just me trying to be me. Obviously, I do run like him (Bolt). I do sometimes look like him, but obviously I’m making a name for myself, and I think I’ve done that pretty well. I just want to continue doing that and continue to be not only Usain Bolt but continue to be Gout Gout,” Gout had told the Sydney Morning Herald last week.
