It has previously been an honour reserved for the likes of Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman. Now, sprint sensation Gout Gout has joined an elite club of Australian A-listers to be the focus of a story on respected US current affairs programme 60 Minutes.
The 18-year-old was interviewed this week by long-time Sports Illustrated writer Jon Wertheim, who also spoke to coach Di Sheppard for the 13-minute story.
The programme is one of the most popular in the USA and can attract audiences of more than 10m Americans, highlighting the growing phenomenon of Gout, who became the fastest teenager to run 200m last month in Sydney.
The story has been shared widely online, and drew attention from the athletics community. Jonathan Gault, a writer for website “Let’s Run”, posted on X: “Can’t remember many track athletes receiving the 60 Minutes treatment. Great feature from last night on Gout Gout.”
The piece delved into the relationship between coach Sheppard and Gout. The teenager admitted at one point it might seem odd from the outside, but he was adamant it is one that is effective.
“The old white lady and the young black kid, you know,” Gout said. “It’s a crazy dynamic but turns out it works perfectly. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Sheppard joked the only source of tension may be if a girlfriend she didn’t like began to distract him. “I’d go to [Gout’s] mum, ‘She’s got to go!’,” she said.
One commenter on Instagram described the pair’s relationship as “movie worthy”. The most up-voted comment on a Reddit post for the episode said: “Gout Gout will be the face of sprinting for a long time. I’m really excited to see what he can do in his prime.”
But there was not universal positivity from Americans online, many of whom suggested Gout needed to leave Australia to reach his potential.
His appearance on the show builds anticipation towards Gout’s international season, which begins with a 150m showdown against Noah Lyles next month in the Czech Republic.
The teenager’s focus this year is gold at the World Juniors in August. He confirmed on Tuesday he will skip the 100m to focus on his 200m speciality, while also joining the 4x400m relay team on the last day of competition if they reach the final.
“I’m really excited to get out there at World Athletics Under 20s in Eugene, Oregon,” Gout said. “I know it’s a great stadium and place to run fast, and I feel confident I’ll be ready to step up and make Australia proud.
“I’ll be competing in the 200m but I’m also excited to join in the 4x400m on the last day.”
Other Australians such as Baz Luhrmann and Sarah Snook have been interviewed on 60 Minutes in recent years, as well as Texas-born AFL player Mason Cox, who was a surprise subject for the programme in 2023.
At the time, he tried to explain to Aussie rules fans how significant appearing on 60 Minutes is with a post on Twitter: “Why is tomorrow’s episode on 60 Minutes such a big deal? Their audience is 13 million. Australian population is 25 million. This exposure for AFL has never [had] a bigger audience.”
