'Play with his age mates': Olympic champion's reality check for Gout

Olympic gold medallist Letsile Tebogo taught Gout Gout a tough lesson on the Australian teenager’s Diamond League debut on Thursday (AEST) – and then urged the prodigy to “play with his age mates”.

As Australian pole vaulter Kurtis Marschall bagged his second consecutive Diamond League win and Ky Robinson broke Craig Mottram’s long-standing 5000m Australian record, Gout finished sixth in the 200m in Norway.

Tebogo, the man who won gold in the 200m at the Paris 2024 Olympics, dominated in Oslo to win in 19.84 seconds (+0.2).

The Botswana star was the only athlete who cracked the 20-second mark, with South Africa’s Sinesipho Dambile taking second in 20.12 and Trinidad and Tobago’s Jereem Richards finishing third in 20.50.

Gout, who in Sydney in April clocked 19.67 to break the world under-20 record, finished sixth in Oslo in 20.60.

The Queenslander’s incredible top-end speed has repeatedly pulled him out of trouble on the home straight, but on this occasion he had another sluggish start and never recovered.

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Race analysis shows the 18-year-old recorded the second-slowest first 20m of the eight-man field.

“First and foremost, he [Gout] shouldn’t get comfortable racing with the seniors,” Tebogo told Citius Magazine post-race.

“He still has a long way to go. He should by all means play with his age mates where he is a bit comfortable, because the more he runs with us, the more we push, the more injuries he is going to get.

“I hope the management, the coaches and everybody around him will advise that because that’s what worked for me, and I believe it will also work for him.

“I have seen a lot of people my age racing with the seniors, and then it didn’t go well for them.”

Gout admitted his race “didn’t go as planned” and identified his start as his downfall.

“I didn’t think it was turning over as good as I wanted, but that’s the stuff you learn and that’s the stuff you come in here [for],” Gout told Citius Magazine.

“Whatever happens, happens, and then go back to training and work on it more, so that’s what I’m focusing on.”

He said his first run in a series of races across Europe and the USA was a “good rust-buster”, and noted the “amazing” atmosphere.

“This is a great opportunity,” Gout said.

“This is my first time Diamond league, I’m excited to be here, the crowd is absolutely insane, it’s a sold-out crowd.”

Gout will next suit up over the rarely raced 150m distance against Olympic and world champion Noah Lyles at the Ostrava Golden Spike in the Czech Republic next Wednesday (AEST).

Meanwhile, three days after dealing the greatest pole vaulter of all time his first loss in more than 1000 days, Marschall won in Oslo in Armand “Mondo” Duplantis’ absence.

The three-time global medallist won with a jump of 5.82 metres, beating Norway’s Sondre Guttormsen (5.72m) and American Sam Kendricks (5.72m).

Marschall waited just shy of nine years to secure his first Diamond League win on Monday (AEST). He now has his second only three days later.

In the 5000m in Oslo, Robinson clocked 12:50.82 to shatter the 12:55.76 national record run by Mottram in London in July 2004.

Robinson, 24, finished eighth in a blistering race won by Ethiopian Addisu Yihune in 12:47.62, the fastest time of 2026.

Australian middle-distance prodigy Cameron Myers finished third in the iconic “dream mile” in Oslo.

In a slow and tactical affair, Myers shot from fifth to third as he flashed home over the final 50m, clocking 3:48.35.

Kenyan Timothy Cheruiyot beat a fellow Olympic medallist, American Yared Nuguse, in a photo finish, taking victory in 3:48.21.

The 800m was won by 17-year-old phenom Cooper Lutkenhaus from the USA in 1:42.08.

Lutkenhaus, one of the most exciting emerging talents in global athletics, has won six of six 800m races this year.

In Oslo, he stormed into the lead with 200m to go and held on to beat reigning Olympic gold medallist Emmanuel Wanyonyi by .01 of a second.