Gout Gout pulls out of Comm Games to chase world junior gold

Australia’s biggest track and field star, Gout Gout, is out of the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

The 18-year-old has decided to instead focus on the World U/20 Championships which are on a week later in Oregon, USA.

The competition schedule for the two events is too close together, with Gout and his coach Di Sheppard deciding to focus on claiming the world title.

Gout won the silver medal in the U/20 200m at the world titles in Peru in 2024 when he was just 16. He immediately declared he had unfinished business and would return to win gold.

The athletics program at the Commonwealth Games starts on July 27, with the finals of the men’s 100m on July 28 and the 200m on July 31.

In Oregon, the heats of the U/20 100m are on August 5 with the final the following day. The final of the 200m is on August 8.

Gout said he was disappointed to miss the Commonwealth Games but this was his final opportunity to compete in the Junior World Championships.

“It (the Commonwealth Games) is a great event,” he said. “It’s one of those big meets where everyone goes … but it’s definitely a better decision going forward.”

Sheppard said the priority was not to push the teenager too early in his career.

“We want him to be running in his late 20s, so you don’t want to push the boundaries too soon, it’s just the fact (the schedules) are so compacted,” she told Channel 7.

Adding to Gout’s enthusiasm about the Junior World Championships was the Eugene track’s reputation as one of the fastest in the world.

“It’s one of the greatest tracks I believe,” he said. “It’s going to be fast times there, so looking forward to it.”

Australian Commonwealth Games team chef de mission* Petria Thomas said she understood Gout’s longstanding focus has been his dream to become the first Australian to win a sprint gold medal at the Junior World Championships.

“Gout is a remarkable talent and although he won’t be in Glasgow, we hope to see him don* the green and gold at a Commonwealth Games in the future,” Thomas said.

“I think it’s important that we all remember he is 18 and remains on the rise. He has a long career ahead of him and we respect his decision to prioritise the world U20 championships as he builds towards a home Olympic Games at Brisbane 2032.”

In a statement, Australian Athletics said it also supported the decision.

“Australian Athletics supports the decision by Gout Gout and his coaching team for him to not compete at the 2026 Commonwealth Games and to prioritise his focus on success at the World Athletics Under-20 Championships in 2026,” it said.

“Competing at both events is challenging due to scheduling conflicts and locations, and given his young age, a focus on his long-term development is important.”

Gout was in Melbourne on Saturday where he took part in a 4 x 400m relay camp at Lakeside Stadium.

He is expected to run the 100m/200m double at the Queensland State Championships on March 14-15 before he returns to Melbourne, where he’ll be the drawcard* at the Maurie Plant Meet on March 28.

The Australian Championships in Sydney April 9-12 will be the last time local fans will see the rising star before he heads overseas.

Gout may not be in Glasgow but Thomas noted the impressive depth of athletics talent available to the Australian Commonwealth Games Team.

“From Jess Hull* and Nina Kennedy*, to Matt Denny* and Lachie Kennedy*, we can be confident the athletics contingent at the Commonwealth Games will remain strong,” Thomas said.

“Australian athletics is in the midst of a renaissance* and we’re very much looking forward to watching them build on their Birmingham 2022 success at Glasgow 2026.”

POLL

GLOSSARY

• chef de mission: the person in charge of a sporting team at a large international event
• don: wear, to put on clothing
• drawcard: a person or thing that attracts people to a place, event, product,
• Jess Hull: middle- and long-distance runner who won a silver medal at the Paris Olympics in the 1500m
• Nina Kennedy: Paris Olympics gold medallist in pole vaulting
• Matt Denny: discus thrower who won the bronze at the 2024 Paris Games
• Lachie Kennedy: Australian sprinter who last year became only the second Australian to ever break the 10 second barrier in the 100m
• renaissance: a new growth of activity or renewed interest in something

EXTRA READING

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Olympic swimming legend retires

Comm Games cuts more sports

QUICK QUIZ

1. Which medal did Gout Gout win in Peru in 2024?
2. Where are the 2026 Commonwealth Games being held?
3. Who is Team Australia’s chef de mission for the Games?
4. What is special about the track in Eugene, Oregon, where Gout Gout will aim for the junior world title?
5. Who are some of the other athletes mentioned in the article leading the Aussie charge at this Commonwealth Games?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Decision-making
It’s hard sometimes to make big decisions for yourself when you have different options you have to decide between. A good process sometimes is to write down all the pros (reasons for) and cons (reasons against) each option to help you decide.

Write down all the pros and cons for Gout Gout about competing in either the Glasgow Commonwealth Games or the Junior U20 World Championships. Think about his career goals, age and even costs of attending and future winnings.

Time: allow 15 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Health and Physical Education, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

2. Extension
Gout Gout’s coach, Di Sheppard, states in the article that the “priority was not to push (the teenager) too early in his career”.

What sort of things would they be doing to ensure he has a long running career, not a short one if pushed too hard, too early.

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Time: allow 10 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Health and Physical Education, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

VCOP ACTIVITY
Exercise the body and the mind
Exercise is not only important for the body, but it’s a lot of fun as well. Let’s bring more exercise into classroom learning by creating a VCOP PE game.

You can add a VCOP challenge to pretty much any game, and it’s a great way to encourage the teacher to let the class play more games.

Here is an example to get you started, then you create one of your own.

VCOP dodgeball
The normal rules of dodgeball apply. Two teams throw soft balls at each other and if you get hit, you have to sit out. The team who knocks out all the players on the other team, wins.

VCOP challenge: when you get eliminated, collect a mini-whiteboard and a basic clause from the sidelines. Up-level the sentence (make it better) by adding VCOP. When you show the teacher your completed sentence, you can return to the game.

Play for a set amount of time and the team with the most players left on the court wins.

Support: use the “Up-Level It” card set – players have to complete one card from the set instead of completing all VCOP challenges.

What can you come up with?