Gout Gout buys a house for his family, teams up with iconic Aussie brand

Mighty met Mitey on Friday, when sprint sensation Gout Gout high-fived the Vegemite mascot — yes, the iconic Australian brand has a mascot — and fired the starting gun on a bumper partnership.

The Australian sprint sensation returned to the primary school he attended, St Francis Xavier Catholic in Ipswich, to surprise hundreds of wide-eyed, screaming kids and set the deal with Vegemite in motion.

Gout will mark another special occasion in his whirlwind world in a few weeks' time, when he and his family — all nine of them, including his six siblings, mother and father — move into a new house the sprint superstar has purchased at just 18 years old.

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Gout has a bulging bank account — it ballooned at 16 when he inked a deal with adidas said to be worth $6 million — and he wanted to dip into it to give his family a better life.

Sporting a Vegemite-branded T-shirt at the launch of the partnership on Friday, he explained what about the Vegemite deal appealed to him.

"Vegemite is such an iconic brand, and having athletes like Ash Barty [on board]," Gout told media.

"Ash was based in Ipswich, and still is based in Ipswich. Just to know that it's just an iconic Australian brand and [has] iconic Australian athletes, it makes sense to make a partnership."

A favourite snack of Gout's is Vegemite and avocado on buttered toast.

It fuelled his year 12 studies at Ipswich Grammar School, and has fuelled his meteoric rise on the track.

"It's my secret weapon," he smiled.

"It's the go-to."

Gout will in March swing open the doors of his new home and waltz on in with his family, starting a new chapter not far from their current Ipswich home.

"It's pretty cool," Gout's manager, James Templeton, told Wide World of Sports.

"He's 18 and he's bought a house for his family to live in. It's just great, and his family is just thrilled."

Gout has made a number of big moves in recent weeks, Vegemite deal and new house aside.

It was revealed on Sunday that he wouldn't be competing at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, having decided to instead run at the world under-20 athletics championships in the United States, scheduled to begin only three days later.

Scotland's scaled-back Commonwealth Games are scheduled to run from July 23 until August 2. The world under-20 titles, to be hosted by Eugene, Oregon, will run from August 5-9.

"I think it was definitely a good decision [to prioritise the world under-20 championships] because it's the last year of my under-20s. It's such a great meet and it's such a great experience to be at the under-20s," Gout said.

"And to know that there's so many more Commonwealth Games coming up, I think stepping out of this one isn't a big issue for me. I'll be back [to compete at the Commonwealth Games] for sure."

The Gout camp is planning for the 18-year-old to compete in the 200 metres at the world under-20 titles as well as one of the relay events, whether the 4x100m or 4x400m, Wide World of Sports has learned.

At the last edition of the world under-20 championships, held in Lima, Peru in August 2024, Gout won silver in the 200m. He was only 16 at the time. The athlete who won gold, South Africa's Bayanda Walaza, is almost two years older.

"Oregon [Hayward Field in Eugene] is one of the best tracks in the world, and there's so many people that have PBs [personal bests] coming out of Oregon, so it's definitely a great track," Gout continued.

"And at world juniors you make great friends, and the competition itself is amazing.

"It's hard to describe. It's kind of like the Olympics.

"Especially being my last year [in the under-20s], I just want to cap it off."

Many of track and field's greats won gold at the world under-20 championships. Among them are Usain Bolt, Noah Lyles and Armand "Mondo" Duplantis.

Gout wants to match them.

"It's definitely a big lure," he said.

"It's definitely a stepping stone for sure, knowing that if you can win juniors and transition that into opens, it's definitely great. That's the goal I'm looking for."

Among the hundreds of school kids at the launch of Gout's deal with Vegemite was his 11-year-old brother Bol, the youngest of Bona and Monica's seven kids. He's in year six at St Francis Xavier Catholic Primary School.

"He reckons he's faster than me," Gout laughed.

"I guess we'll see."