Track and field hasn’t exactly been Australia’s bread and butter in the Olympics. The country’s best performance came in Melbourne back in 1956, where they hit the jackpot with 4 gold, 2 silver, and 6 bronze medals. That year also saw a couple of finalists, 3 Australian records broken, and a ton of personal bests. But here’s the kicker—2024 might just be Australia’s most successful Olympics yet. With 18 gold medals already in the bag across all events, Paris 2024 is shaping up to blow everything else out of the water. Before this, Australia’s best gold medal count in a single Games was 17, back in Athens 2004 and Tokyo 2020. But what about the gold medal in Paris? Not good!

This year, Australia competed in 39 of the 48 events at the Stade de France. Despite the big team, though, they hardly bring just 1 home the gold. Sydney 2000 still holds the record for the most total medals, with 58 (16 gold, 25 silver, 17 bronze). But something that really caught the eye was Erin Brown’s comment about Australia’s sprinting scene. She said, “Wait Australia got damn near 30 million ppl and nobody has run sub 20 in the 200? rolled a__ country!” It’s a fair point, but it’s not all doom and gloom; who knows? Maybe young talent like 16-year-old Gout Gout could be the one to turn the tables and give the competition a run for its money!

Gout Gout, the 16-year-old Aussie, is seriously rewriting the rulebook when it comes to track and field. From breaking Usain Bolt’s records to making the 200m race a serious challenge for the pros, this kid is on fire! Over the last six months, he’s been making waves with his record-breaking runs, but his latest achievement is truly something special. Gout recently smashed Australia’s 200m national record. But how? Well, running 20.04 seconds, and that’s how he did it! And with this, he beat Peter Norman’s 20.06 record from the 1968 Olympics. And if that wasn’t enough, he also became the fastest 16-year-old ever in the 200m—something even Bolt didn’t do in his early days.

This Gout Gout just shattered records—is he the next Usain Bolt?

What’s even more impressive is that Gout did this at his home track in Brisbane, where he was raised by parents who fled war-torn South Sudan. He’s been compared to Bolt a lot lately, and after this run, it’s easy to see why. Gout is now the second-fastest under-18 sprinter in history. His attitude? Totally humble yet full of confidence. He said, “These are adult times, and me, just a kid, I’m running them. It’s going to be a great future for sure.” While he initially thought that it might take another year or two to get a chance of breaking the record, here it is. To top it all off, that is not even his best performance of the night yet.

But just a day before that 200m record, he completed 200m in 10.04 sec, but unfortunately it did not count as the wind was too strong. But he recovered well and recorded a legal 10.17 seconds to clinch the race and the champion under-18 national record. The crowd went wild, and commentator Mitch Dyer couldn’t contain his excitement, saying, “He can’t be stopped. The future is here, you just watched it.” Gout’s got a sponsorship deal with Adidas. But still, Erin Brown ain’t happy with it. He shared on X, “He’s just a kid. That’s it that’s all. Let’s just sit and watch him cook.” Gout’s future is looking bright and better. If this continues, maybe he can redefine the sport in the 2028 Olympics in LA. Although Paris was not the finest athletics display in Australia, this teen can be a history maker!

Australia’s performance in athletics at Paris 2024 was not the best, but they secured seven medals in total. It started on Day 1, when Jemima Montag finally clinched the bronze in the women’s 20km walk. Australia finished athletics in Paris 2024 with sleeves a silver from Jess Hull in the 1500m. Jemima Montag won another bronze in the mixed marathon, and Nina Kennedy won women’s pole vault gold. Matthew Denny also earned a bronze in the discus. Also, in the women’s high jump, Nicola Olyslagers took silver, and Eleanor Patterson claimed bronze.

So, Australia’s final tally was 1 gold, 2 silver, and 4 bronze—solid, but not over the top. Still, with rising stars like Gout Gout on the horizon, Australia’s athletics future is looking pretty exciting!