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Like Cathy Freeman: Gout's compared to Aussie legend
Emily Benammar • September 19th, 2025 8:39 am
Gout Gout’s impact on the athletics world has been compared to Cathy Freeman’s, in a massive compliment following the teen sensation’s exit from the World Championships.
The 17-year-old finished fourth in the semi-finals of the 200m t the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, with a time of 20.36 seconds.
Conditions were far from ideal with the track wet from a heavy downpour, but Gout did himself proud finishing behind Bryan Levell, reigning Olympic gold medallist Letsile Tebogo and Courtney Lindsey.
Gout ensured he shook the hand of every competitor after crossing the line – a gesture that moved former Australian track and field star David Culbert to compare him to Freeman.
"You should be very proud of what you did, you ran a great race," Culbert said during a post-race interview for Channel Nine.
"If you look back at the heats and the minor mistakes you made, you cleaned them up.
"I was a teammate of Cathy Freeman's, so I have been on that ride and seen someone transform a sport, and that's what you're now doing."
Still in high school, Gout has taken his rise to fame in his stride.
With relentless comparisons to Usain Bolt – who was in the stadium to watch the race – the Aussie maintains he is just living out his dream.
"It was a great race, being able to come out here in the semi final and do my thing is pretty incredible," the said.
"I couldn't have asked for anything better. It's been a great experience. To come out here at the young age of 17 is not something many people can experience.
"Tokyo is one of the cities I've wanted to visit for a long time, so to visit it and compete at a world championships is two of my dreams come true."
Referring to the expectation of a nation, he added: "Sometimes it seeps in, but I think most of the time it washes over me.
"It's such an incredible thing for Australia … I can't wait for more."
