Latest news with #JamesTempleton
Daily Mail
22-07-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Why Gout Gout's new plan to win gold is a shocking blow for one Australian state
Gout Gout has confirmed he will compete in next year's Commonwealth Games in an announcement that will be a hard pill to swallow for Victorians after the state reneged on its plan to hold the event next year. The 17-year-old 100m and 200m sprinter hasn't revealed which event he'll run in Glasgow next July, but he will race in Scotland before heading to the World Junior Championships in the USA. 'We need to wait for the full Commonwealth Games program to be released but yes, we are planning that Gout will be available to run at an event in Glasgow,' said the runner's manager, James Templeton. The announcement opens the door for Gout to compete against his Aussie rival and friend Lachie Kennedy, who beat him over 200m in Melbourne in March. Two years ago, the Victorian Government backed out of its hosting duties for the 2026 Commonwealth Games in a decision that rocked Australian sport. The state is funding the event in Scotland to the tune of almost $200million in taxpayer money - and now Gout Gout is part of an upswing in interest in the Games, which were meant to provide a big economic boost to rural Victoria. 'That disappointment of the Victorian government cancelling the Games, it's not going to fade quickly ... particularly in the way it was done, as well,' Australia's Commonwealth chef de mission Petria Thomas said. Victoria gave no warning to Games officials before dropping the bombshell about the state's hosting duties in July 2023. For the next 'tumultuous' year, as Thomas put it, the future of event first staged in 1930 was threatened before Glasgow saved the Games. 'Incredibly grateful and fortunate that the Scottish have stepped up to the mark here,' Thomas said. 'It was obviously highly disappointing that the Victorian government pulled out and it left the Commonwealth sport movement in a very difficult position. 'It's fantastic that the Games will be on in Glasgow. 'Obviously a little bit of a different look to them this time with fewer sports which is a shame. 'But it's the reality of the position that the Commonwealth sport movement was put in, unfortunately.' Beyond Glasgow, five nations including Olympic 2036 hopeful India, Canada and Nigeria have tabled bids to host the centenary 2030 Games. New Zealand is among two bidders for the 2034 version. All will be keen observers of Glasgow's pared-down Games featuring 10 sports, nine less than in 2022 in Birmingham. Trusty sources of Australian medals such as hockey, rugby sevens and diving have been chopped. But crucially for Australia's ambitions, 82 per cent of the nation's medal events in Birmingham remain on the Glasgow program. 'We don't set specific medal targets,' Thomas said. 'But we don't shy away from the fact that we would like to finish on top of the medal tally. 'To be honest, our Australian public expect the Australian team do well. 'We will be doing everything we can to help our athletes across as many sports as possible win as many medals, and preferably gold ones - that's nothing to shy away from.' The Glasgow program will feature athletics, swimming, 3x3 basketball, track cycling, weightlifting, lawn bowls, artistic gymnastics, netball, boxing and judo. 'If you look at the past, Australians generally have wanted to compete at the Commonwealth Games because they know it's an amazing event and a special team to be a part of,' Thomas said. 'Of course we hope that all of our best athletes are there ... I am confident we will have our best athletes available.' Four Glasgow venues will host sports and the Games won't be funded from the public purse.
News.com.au
22-07-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Gout Gout locks in blockbuster 2026 athletics schedule
Gout Gout has locked in a bumper 2026 athletics schedule, confirming he intends to run for gold at next year's Commonwealth Games. There had been some question marks over where the teenager would compete at next year's event in Glasgow in July, with the World Junior Athletics Championships in August the main goal on his hit list. The Commonwealth Games will be held in Glasgow, Scotland next year from July 23 to August 2, and Gout's camp confirmed he will likely run the 100m because it is early on in the program. He could also run the 200m at the Comm Games but that remains to be seen, given the 17-year-old is targeting the world junior championships the following month in Eugene, Oregon in the United States (August 5-9). According to Code Sports, an agreement was reached for Gout to run in both events after lobbying from Channel 7, which is broadcasting the Commonwealth Games. 'We need to wait for the full Commonwealth Games program to be released, but yes we are planning that Gout will be available to run an event in Glasgow before going onto the World Juniors in Eugene,' Gout's manager James Templeton said. Gout's camp has been slow playing the early stages of his career, conscious of the hype train getting out of control after he broke Peter Norman's longstanding national 200m record last year. The Year 12 student ran a personal best of 20.02sec at the Ostrava Golden Spike meet in the Czech Republic earlier this year, and he won another Under-23 200m race on his Diamond League debut in Monaco. The next milestone for Gout is the 20-second barrier, which should only take him a matter of time to break if he can finally get some favourable wind conditions. He will make his senior international debut at September's World Junior Championships in Japan, where he could come up against the USA's Noah Lyles and Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo. Gout's commitment to competing in the Commonwealth Games is another gut punch for Aussies after Dan Andrews' Victorian government ditched its support, resulting in the event becoming modified with fewer sports. The Victorian government decided in July 2023 to cancel the Commonwealth Games, which were to be held throughout regional Victoria, with 2014 host Glasgow stepping in. Glasgow 2026 will be the 23rd edition of the Commonwealth Games and will feature a 10-sport program and approximately 3,000 athletes competing from up to 74 Commonwealth nations and territories. Glasgow 2026 will once again be a fully integrated event, featuring six Para sports and a record 47 Para sport medal events, making it the largest integrated Para sport program in Commonwealth Games history. The 2026 Games will include Athletics and Para Athletics (track and field), Swimming and Para Swimming, Artistic Gymnastics, Track Cycling and Para Track Cycling, Netball, Weightlifting and Para Powerlifting, Boxing, Judo, Bowls and Para Bowls, and 3x3 Basketball and 3x3 Wheelchair Basketball. The Commonwealth Games has provided a launch pad for countless Australian athletes over the years as they make the leap from untapped prospects to bona fide stars and Olympic champions. Think Cathy Freeman, Steve Hooker, Sally Pearson and Ariarne Titmus, just to name a few. 'We've stood tall against the champion endurance runners of Kenya, sprinters from Jamaica and the world's best netballers,' Bruce McAvaney said. 'Superstars have emerged – a 16-year-old Cathy Freeman and Hayley Lewis, just 15, at the 1990 Games in Auckland. We witnessed Raelene Boyle's awesome swansong in Brisbane and shared the emotion as Kerryn McCann won the marathon at the MCG in 2006. It was spine-tingling to watch Oli Hoare run down two world champions to win the 1500m in Birmingham,' he said. 'The Glasgow Games bring with them a new impetus, a new enthusiasm and another opportunity to cement relationships among nations. It is thrilling and a privilege for Seven to be able to continue our long association bringing the Games to all Australians.'
News.com.au
12-06-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Sprint sensation Gout Gout's ‘crazy, big-money' sacrifice to stay in Australia
Gout Gout has turned down massive sponsorship offers because they required him to move away from Australia. All of the biggest sporting companies around the globe have come calling for Australia's schoolboy sprint sensation, flashing big-money deals but with strings attached. These included moving overseas to high-end training facilities in places like Jamaica, the home of the world's fastest man Usain Bolt. But Gout's manager James Templeton has repeatedly knocked back the advances, preferring to leave the 17-year-old around his family and current support system with coach Di Sheppard in Ipswich. After breaking Peter Norman's 56-year-old national 200m record in December at the Australian All-Schools Championships, Gout signed one of the biggest deals in Australian athletics history with Adidas. 'JT (Templeton) told me how much they were willing to pay to get me on their side,' Gout told GQ. 'It was crazy. The number kept getting higher and I realised how much these companies think I'm worth. 'But that sponsorship really helps you get to the next level because obviously you need the money to travel and to train. Especially since I'm at school, so I don't need to go and find a job at Maccas or whatever to put fuel in my car. It definitely helps a lot.' Gout, who lives at home with his six brothers and sisters and parents who fled South Sudan 20 years ago, says he hasn't splashed out with any of his new-found riches yet. 'Long term, I'd like to set myself up and set my family up,' he says. 'I've saved a lot and I bought myself a new car when I got my Ps, so that's probably the biggest purchase I've made so far. I haven't gone crazy.' He describes the attention he's received since his breakthrough performances last year as 'crazy'. 'People asking me for photos and things of that nature, it's definitely surreal. It's crazy to think how far I've come. But it's given me perspective to see how far I can actually go, as well.' His next big race is in Europe during the July school holidays where he'll compete in the U/23 Diamond League event in Monaco before setting his sights on the world athletics championships in Tokyo in September.
News.com.au
11-06-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Sprint sensation Gout Gout's ‘crazy, big-money' sponsorship sacrifice to stay in Australia
Gout Gout has turned down massive sponsorship offers because they required him to move away from Australia. All of the biggest sporting companies around the globe have come calling for Australia's schoolboy sprint sensation, flashing big-money deals but with strings attached. These included moving overseas to high-end training facilities in places like Jamaica, the home of the world's fastest man Usain Bolt. But Gout's manager James Templeton has repeatedly knocked back the advances, preferring to leave the 17-year-old around his family and current support system with coach Di Sheppard in Ipswich. After breaking Peter Norman's 56-year-old national 200m record in December at the Australian All-Schools Championships, Gout signed one of the biggest deals in Australian athletics history with Adidas. 'JT (Templeton) told me how much they were willing to pay to get me on their side,' Gout told GQ. 'It was crazy. The number kept getting higher and I realised how much these companies think I'm worth. 'But that sponsorship really helps you get to the next level because obviously you need the money to travel and to train. Especially since I'm at school, so I don't need to go and find a job at Maccas or whatever to put fuel in my car. It definitely helps a lot.' Gout, who lives at home with his six brothers and sisters and parents who fled South Sudan 20 years ago, says he hasn't splashed out with any of his new-found riches yet. 'Long term, I'd like to set myself up and set my family up,' he says. 'I've saved a lot and I bought myself a new car when I got my Ps, so that's probably the biggest purchase I've made so far. I haven't gone crazy.' He describes the attention he's received since his breakthrough performances last year as 'crazy'. 'People asking me for photos and things of that nature, it's definitely surreal. It's crazy to think how far I've come. But it's given me perspective to see how far I can actually go, as well.' His next big race is in Europe during the July school holidays where he'll compete in the U/23 Diamond League event in Monaco before setting his sights on the world athletics championships in Tokyo in September. The full interview with Gout is in the June/July issue of GQ out on Friday.
