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Gout Gout and arch-rival beaten by school teacher as brutal race rule derails $40k hopes
Teenage sprint sensation Gout Gout was denied a highly anticipated showdown with rival Lachlan Kennedy by a brutal handicap system. South Australian school teacher John Evans stunned the two athletes to ensure their Stawell Gift campaigns ended in the semi-finals. Gout Gout blitzed the field despite a handicap, but it wasn’t enoughGetty The 28-year-old, who set the fastest time of the heats, ran the final semi in 12.10 seconds to move one race away from the $40,000 prize. The secondary school teacher benefited from a 9.75m handicap, which ruined Gout Gout‘s hopes of the Stawell Gift decider. The storied 120 metre race’s handicap system meant that Gout had to run 119 metres, compared to Evans’ 110.25m. The 17-year-old, who will pocket $50k from his appearance, finished in 12.34 but ultimately the backmarker was off by just one metre. “He needed 140m, not 120m,” said former Stawell Gift champion and commentator Jason Richardson of Gout. Gout, who broke the 20-second barrier in the 200m at last week’s Australian Championship, finished his heat with a time of 12.31. However, he was always up against it to overcome the deficit to heat-winner Evans, who went on to win the final and claim the $40k. Evans followed in the footsteps of his coach, Paul Young, who won the 1985 Gift, to finish first in the 143rd edition of the celebrated 120m handicap race. “It’s been a pretty stressful couple of days,” he later told Channel 7. “My girlfriend will tell you it’s been all nerves, but that’s what the Stawell Gift is about. Gout Gout was eliminated in the semi-finals of the Stawell GiftGetty Adelaide schoolteacher John Evans won the $40,000 prizeAFP “But a fantastic opportunity. “Someone like myself will never get the chance to race against the likes of Gout Gout and Lachlan Kennedy, all these top stars. “You look at the footage, I look across and I can see him like ‘gee whiz’. He had me scared for a second. “I could hear all the crowd hyping up, the commentators.” Event organisers would have been dreaming that Gout and Kennedy could renew their friendly rivalry in a final. The latter edged their previous encounter in the 200m at the Maurie Plant Meet in Melbourne last month. Kennedy and Gout shared a touching embrace after winning their heatsGetty Gout was denied a chance at revenge at the national championships this month, but Kennedy was disqualified on the starting blocks. Neither made it past the semi-finals at Stawell, with Kennedy eliminated by Dash Muir, who won off a handicap of 7.75m. ‘The next Usain Bolt‘ Gout had opened up on the pair’s relationship before that race, after they had each won their respective heats. “It’s definitely a great relationship,” Gout told Channel 7’s Sunday Footy Feast. “Me and Lachie, we’ve raced other for a couple of years now, ever since I started he’s always been in my heat at shield meets. Gout Gout proved the main attraction at the Gift despite his early exitGetty The next Usain Bolt received a $50k sponsorship to appear at the eventAFP “We’ve definitely built a relationship off that and just being together and racing together helps us take it to the next level. “Obviously we’re trying to beat each other but we also want the best for each other during the runs. “Especially here in Stawell. I was before his heat and he was cheering me on, and after my heat I was cheering him on. “It’s definitely great and it’s a rivalry but it’s also a friendship as well.” Despite Gout’s shock loss, the smiling teenager gained plenty of plaudits for finishing the race by high-fiving the crowd.
Teenage sprint sensation Gout Gout was denied a highly anticipated showdown with rival Lachlan Kennedy by a brutal handicap system.
South Australian school teacher John Evans stunned the two athletes to ensure their Stawell Gift campaigns ended in the semi-finals.
The 28-year-old, who set the fastest time of the heats, ran the final semi in 12.10 seconds to move one race away from the $40,000 prize.
The secondary school teacher benefited from a 9.75m handicap, which ruined Gout Gout‘s hopes of the Stawell Gift decider.
The storied 120 metre race’s handicap system meant that Gout had to run 119 metres, compared to Evans’ 110.25m.
The 17-year-old, who will pocket $50k from his appearance, finished in 12.34 but ultimately the backmarker was off by just one metre.
“He needed 140m, not 120m,” said former Stawell Gift champion and commentator Jason Richardson of Gout.
Gout, who broke the 20-second barrier in the 200m at last week’s Australian Championship, finished his heat with a time of 12.31.
However, he was always up against it to overcome the deficit to heat-winner Evans, who went on to win the final and claim the $40k.
Evans followed in the footsteps of his coach, Paul Young, who won the 1985 Gift, to finish first in the 143rd edition of the celebrated 120m handicap race.
“It’s been a pretty stressful couple of days,” he later told Channel 7.
“My girlfriend will tell you it’s been all nerves, but that’s what the Stawell Gift is about.
“But a fantastic opportunity.
“Someone like myself will never get the chance to race against the likes of Gout Gout and Lachlan Kennedy, all these top stars.
“You look at the footage, I look across and I can see him like ‘gee whiz’. He had me scared for a second.
“I could hear all the crowd hyping up, the commentators.”
Event organisers would have been dreaming that Gout and Kennedy could renew their friendly rivalry in a final.
The latter edged their previous encounter in the 200m at the Maurie Plant Meet in Melbourne last month.
Gout was denied a chance at revenge at the national championships this month, but Kennedy was disqualified on the starting blocks.
Neither made it past the semi-finals at Stawell, with Kennedy eliminated by Dash Muir, who won off a handicap of 7.75m.
‘The next Usain Bolt‘ Gout had opened up on the pair’s relationship before that race, after they had each won their respective heats.
“It’s definitely a great relationship,” Gout told Channel 7’s Sunday Footy Feast.
“Me and Lachie, we’ve raced other for a couple of years now, ever since I started he’s always been in my heat at shield meets.
“We’ve definitely built a relationship off that and just being together and racing together helps us take it to the next level.
“Obviously we’re trying to beat each other but we also want the best for each other during the runs.
“Especially here in Stawell. I was before his heat and he was cheering me on, and after my heat I was cheering him on.
“It’s definitely great and it’s a rivalry but it’s also a friendship as well.”
Despite Gout’s shock loss, the smiling teenager gained plenty of plaudits for finishing the race by high-fiving the crowd.
