All Schools Championships | Gout Gout breaks sprints record twice

School boy sprint sensation Gout Gout (Diane Sheppard) has broken the Australian Under 16 200m record not once but twice on Day One of the 2022 Chemist Warehouse Australian All Schools Championships in Adelaide.

The 14-year-old from Ipswich, Queensland soared to victory in 21.14 against a headwind (-0.1) in the final, just two hours after breaking the Australian record with a 21.15 (+1.8) run in his heat.

Gout’s new record is 0.3 seconds faster than the previous record held by Jordon Shelley in 2013, and the All Schools gold medal became his after crossing the line more than half a second in front of South Australia’s Andrew Maenda who finished the race in 21.81. 

Speaking after the race, Gout said the records came as a shock despite having broken the Australian Under 16 100m records twice in October and November.  
“It feels good. I wasn’t expecting it but to come out here and do two in a day feels good,” Gout said.

“I have got my 100m time down from 10.95 to 10.57 and now the 200m is dropping. Hopefully I can go faster in the final, I definitely prefer the 200m - I love the feeling of going around the bend.”

In a serendipitous moment for the 2022 edition of the Championships, it was Team South Australia that took the first gold medal of the day, with discus powerhouse Marley Raikiwasa (Steve Larsson) exceeding all expectations in the Under 18 Girls discus. 

With the home crowd watching intently, Raikiwasa stepped up and put on one of the performances of the day to kick off Championships, throwing an enormous 52.44m on her second attempt. The World Under 20 Championships ninth place getter finished more than four metres ahead of her competitors and just shy of her 52.93m personal best, with her fiercest school-aged rival Hannah Edwards from North Queensland finishing in second place on the podium with a best throw of 48.16.

A big smile came with the gold medal, with Raikiwasa saying: “I didn’t expect to throw that big today, it was a huge shock. I took a lot from World Juniors; of course I had confidence after making the final but it was more the experience of knowing that one competition doesn’t define you.” 

A pair of meet records tumbled in the Under 16 800m ranks, with New South Wales duo Ivy Boothroyd (Jacinta Doyle) and Daniel Williams (Tim Kitching) charging into the history books with strong two-lap performances.

Less than a week after setting a New South Wales Under 16 record of 2:04.90, Boothroyd asserted her presence with the early lead, establishing a buffer on the field that would prove insurmountable in the home straight, as Fleur Cooper (Ben Liddy) battled valiantly for silver behind her teammate.

“The plan was to go through in 62 or 63 and then bring it home with whatever I’ve got. It was good to have those other girls in there, they pushed me in the first lap and I know they are always going to come home hard,” Boothroyd said.

Williams emerged as one of the early bolters of the championships, with the 15-year-old carving down his personal best from the 1:54.53 to obliterate the meet record (Charlie Jeffreson – 1:53.39) with a run of 1:51.95. The Coffs Harbour product was as pleased as anyone with the result.

“It feels amazing, absolutely amazing! The plan was to save it for the 1500m but Jamie from WA just took it out and I knew it was going to be quick from then on. We lapped 56 and then negative split, which is absolutely beyond what I thought I could do,” Williams said.

Victoria’s Marcus Wakim (Adam Garganis) carved close to one-minute off the meet record in the Under 17 5000m Walk, clocking a sharp 21:21.17 to fall just outside his personal best despite the harsh conditions. 

The 16-year-old continues to impress in his race walking rise, having represented Australia in Oman earlier this year.

“I felt a bit average in the second kilometre but the last two kilometres I just went for it and didn’t have any pains. The time was right around my personal best which I was definitely happy with considering it was pretty hot, obviously it’s good to get the meet record too,” Wakim said. 

Another meet record tumbled in the Under 15 Girls hammer throw when Tasmanian Arielle Cannell threw a mighty 51.15m to claim gold. Under much duress when in fifth place on her final throw, Cannell unleashed to take the win by nearly six metres and the record by almost four. 

“I’m stoked out of two fouls and one not so great throw. Bagging one out was quite emotional. It was mixed emotion, I was telling myself I could do it and it did happen, which was lucky. I’m not done yet though, I’ve still got to compete in the Under 18 comp, and I’m aiming for the top-8 or top-5.”

New South Wales duo Sebastian Sultana (Greg Smith) and Aleksandra Stoilova (Hayden Kovacic) were crowned the fastest school-aged athletes in the country with dominant performances down the straight, clocking 10.57 and 11.60 respectively. While Sultana was outside his Under 18 Australian record best, Stoilova’s performance was a significant personal best. Olivia Dodds (Lyn Foreman) impressed in the Under 17 ranks with a run of 11.90 (-0.5). 

The Under 16 4x100m relay team consisting of Michael Coetzee, Kai Gale, Jordan Hamilton and Josiah John stormed around a lap of the track to eclipse the meet record, finishing with a time of 42.23 - well ahead of Queensland’s 43.47 effort. The Victorian Under 14 Boys 4x100m relay team also lowered the meet record, with Harrison Dolman, Cooper Brancatisano, Matthew Millas and Zulq Haider ending their relay campaign in 44.93.

Also breaking the meet record in the U15 Boys 200m was Queensland's own Ethan Grimshaw who ran a speedy 22.09 (0.4)  in the final ahead of Wol Albino's 22.40. Grimshaw was just 0.01 shy of the record in his meet when running 22.16 (0.3) in his heat and was motivated to push harder in his closing race of the day. 

2022 Australian All Schools Championships gold medal tally (after Day 1)

Queensland - 24 Gold, 19 Silver,  16 Bronze
New South Wales - 20 Gold, 27 Silver, 28 Bronze
Victoria - 16 Gold, 10 Silver, 15 Bronze
South Australia - 8 Gold, 5 Silver, 5 Bronze
Western Australia - 4 Gold, 5 Silver, 5 Bronze
Tasmania - 2 Gold, 2 Silver, 3 Bronze
Australian Capital Territory  - 1 Gold, 5 Silver, 1 Bronze
North Queensland 1 Gold, 3 Silver, 4 Bronze

Meet Records 

Under 16 Boys 200m - Gout Gout - 21.14 (-0.1)
Under 16 Boys 800m - Daniel Williams - 1:51.95
Under 16 Girls 800m - Ivy Boothroyd - 2:05.81
Under 15 Boys Hammer Throw - Connor Hopgood - 22.16m
Under 15 Girls Hammer Throw - Arielle Cannell - 51.15m
Under 15 Boys 90m Hurdles - Thomas Purcell - 12.28m (+0.5)
Under 15 Boys 200m - Ethan Grimshaw - 22.09 (0.4)
Under 16 Boys 4x100m Relay - Michael Coetzee, Kai Gale, Jordan Hamilton and Josiah John - 42.23
Under 14 Boys 4x100m Relay - Harrison Dolman, Cooper Brancatisano, Matthew Millas and Zulq Haider - 44.93

By Lachlan Moorhouse and Sascha Ryner, Athletics Australia
9/12/2022