Even though he spent the previous day "bedridden", teenage sensation Gout Gout was crowned the Queensland under-20s 100-metre champion after a challenge run in "crazy conditions".
The 18-year-old sprinter, who recently became the third fastest man in Australian history, took part in the Queensland Athletics Championships on Saturday.
It was a blustery affair on Australia's east coast, meaning Gout posted an unspectacular time of 10.28 seconds in the heats with an illegal wind (+2.3m/s).
He did improve in the final at QSAC, clocking 10.20 seconds to take the win over Callan Jensen, but by his usual standards (Gout recorded a time of 10.00s in February), the performance was far from his best. And for good reason.
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Speaking in the aftermath of Saturday's race, the teenager said he was "bedridden" in the hours before his race.
“Yeah, I was bedridden (on Friday),” he told Code Sports. “I am feeling a bit better, I still have got congestion in my throat, but it’s alright, at the end of the day I still have to go out there and run."
Gout added: "I feel a bit better, but it was still a factor.”
A report from The Sydney Morning Herald said Gout was still 'very blocked up from the sinusitis he has been struggling with' as he spoke about the race.
“I feel pretty good, it’s good to get a run under my belt," he added. "I come out here and do what I do."
As mentioned above, Gout produced one of the greatest performances in Australian athletics history in February, when he took part in a Queensland club athletics meeting.
The 18-year-old recorded the joint-fastest legal 100m by an Australian on home soil, clocking a time of 10.00 (+0.9) at the meet to claim the under-20 Australian record, breaking Jake Doran’s 10.15 time from 2018.
Gout moved up to third on the Australian senior all-time list, where he now sits behind Patrick Johnson and Lachlan Kennedy.
He also secured his first qualifying performance in the 100m event for the 2026 World Athletics Under-20 Championships, which will be held at Hayward Field in Oregon from August 5–9 this year.
Jack Kenmare