A day after being 'bed-ridden', Gout Gout battles to victory in 100m run

BRISBANE: Gout Gout spent Friday "bed-ridden" with a sinus issue.

On Saturday, the teen Australian sprint megastar laced up at the Queensland athletics championships — still sick, but not feeling sorry for himself — and battled to victory over 100 metres.

Gout won the under-20 100m title at the state championships in 10.20 seconds, assisted by a legal tailwind measuring +1.5 metres per second at Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre (QSAC).

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Callan Jensen finished second in 10.67 seconds, about three metres behind, and Kyan Dotta placed third in 10.80.

Gout was marginally quicker in the final than in his heat, in which he clocked 10.28 seconds with an illegal tailwind of +2.3 metres per second.

The 18-year-old prodigy's 100m personal best is 10.00 seconds, set at QSAC last month.

In Perth last April, he clocked 9.99 seconds twice in two hours, but in illegal wind conditions.

Gout's coach, Di Sheppard, told Wide World of Sports after Saturday's 100m final that her superstar protégé had been struggling with a sinus issue for 48 hours.

"I was bed-ridden yesterday. I am feeling a bit better today," Gout told reporters when quizzed about his illness.

"I still have got congestion in my throat, but it's all right. At the end of the day, I still have to go out there and run. I feel a bit better but it was still a factor."

Coach Sheppard, an elderly lady, is a straight shooter.

"He's not feeling 100 per cent, but that's the way it is," she said.

"You've gotta roll with that. You've still got to compete when you're exposed to it ... You just cop it on the chin."

Gout wound up in the final and made a beeline for Olympic 800m runner Peter Bol, who was watching trackside alongside Gout's manager, James Templeton, and his coach.

He embraced each of them with a big hug and a beaming smile.

Among the bystanders were also a crew from ITV Studios — the creators of The Voice, The Chase and Love Island — capturing vision for a documentary in the works on both Gout and Bol.

"It was pretty good, just coming out here and getting a few runs under my belt, ironing out what we are working on in training," Gout said.

Sheppard had a simple message for her under-the-weather athlete prior to the event.

"Just run," she said.

"It doesn't matter. I'm not getting bogged down trying to run frickin' times out of the top level all the time.

"He's not 100 per cent, [but] we don't make excuses. That's why he's here."

What did Sheppard make of his run in the final?

"His start was a bit like the way it used to be," she said.

By that, she meant cumbersome and a little uncoordinated.

"We've been refining it a fair bit, but when you're not well and your brain's not functioning 100 per cent, you're going to revert back. But that's sport, isn't it?"

Gout capped off his heat win with a celebration used in the Premier League and NBA.

Unsurprisingly, he quickly opened up a yawning gap in his heat between himself and his closest chaser, who finished the race about 10 metres behind.

Gout pulled off what's known as the "ice-cold celebration", crossing his arms and rubbing his shoulders with his hands.

The celebration was made popular by NBA star Trae Young during his time at the Atlanta Hawks, and footballer Cole Palmer, who plays for Chelsea and England's national team.

Gout is a Manchester City fan.

After the final, dozens of kids were clamouring for his signature and to take selfies with him.

"It's amazing how the public's taken to him," Sheppard said.

"It's a bit of a spin-out, to be honest."

On Sunday, Gout will compete in the semi-finals and final of the open-age 200m.

He was given the all-clear to bypass the preliminary round of the longer sprint, which is his pet event.