At an Australian Athletics Championships that had already witnessed so much history, there was no man more fit for a finishing flash than global sprint phenom Gout Gout as the kid became the king on the final day of athletics action in Perth, while Olympic hero Peter Bol saluted in his home state with a new national record.
The 17-year-old Gout (QLD, Diane Sheppard) became the second fastest Under 20 man in global history over 200m in all conditions, gliding to a time of 19.84 (+2.2) to etch his name even deeper into athletics history.
With pre-race drama seeing Lachlan Kennedy (QLD, Andrew Iselin) disqualified for a false start followed by an unsteady start which saw the race recalled, it was third time lucky for the Ipswich teen who ripped around the bend to the delight of the Perth crowd.
“I took off, got my flick and just sent it down the home straight. These are the steps we take to the top, and you know, these are the steps I have to take to potentially become a world champion or an Olympic champion,” Gout said.
“Obviously I was here for juniors. I was supporting my teammates but just seeing Leah O’Brien, Torrie Lewis, Rohan Browning, they’re running fast and I’m like, I just want to be out there and keep running, so it definitely felt great to be out there.”
Only Erriyon Knighton (USA) has gone faster as an Under 20 athlete, with Gout going past a host of Olympic champions including Usain Bolt (JAM), Letsile Tebogo (BOT) and Justin Gatlin (USA) at the same age in all conditions.
Olympic finalist Bol (WA, Justin Rinaldi) launched Australian 800m running into new territory when cruising to a new national record of 1:43.79 en route to gold, with the smooth-moving veteran celebrating in style in one of the races of the championships.
As defending champion Luke Boyes (NSW, Ben St Lawrence) led the field in a bid to make it back-to-back titles, it was Bol who coasted past his rivals to shatter teammate Joseph Deng’s Australian record of 1:43.99, dragging Peyton Craig (QLD, Brendan Mallyon & Craig Mottram) and Boyes to World Championships qualifiers of 1:44.07 and 1:44.50 respectively for silver and bronze.
“Honestly, I didn’t even think about the national record. I thought about getting the fourth national title, and man, I knew I just had to get out hard. I didn’t want to get stuck at the back and run out of the race, just like I was at the Olympic Games. And I did that, and we came through with a world class performance,” Bol said.
Signalling to the crowd to celebrate as he slowed down in the final metres of the race, Bol said:
“I know Justin (Rinaldi, coach) told me just before I went into the call room to just run through the line. I was like not today, we’ve got to celebrate, mate!”
Dual Olympic medallist Nicola Olyslagers (NSW, Matt Horsnell) kept a clean sheet to 2.01m when equalling her own championship record in the Women’s High Jump, soaring to gold over five-time global medallist Eleanor Patterson (VIC, Fayaaz Caan) with 1.97m.
Olyslagers then raised the bar to 2.05m in an attempt to rewrite history and her national record of 2.03m, producing three strong attempts before signing off with her sixth consecutive Australian title.
“I’m very happy with that. Today, I wanted to attempt 2.05m. I said me and 2.05m have a bit of unfinished business so today was the first time in Australia in this competition, that I tried out my new run-up to get a bit more speed. If I really want to get the very best of myself, I need to be bold,” Olyslagers said.
The qualifiers for the World Athletics Championships to be held in Tokyo, Japan this September rolled on as Sarah Carli (NSW, Abbie Taddeo) posted a career-best 54.29-second performance in the Women’s 400m Hurdles – securing her fourth national title.
Olympic silver medallist Jessica Hull (NSW, Simon Hull) completed the middle-distance double when backing up yesterday’s 1500m title with 5000m gold in a championship record of 15:02.74 when holding off Georgia Griffith (VIC, Nic Bideau) in 15:02.92, while Seth O’Donnell (VIC) won the Men’s 5000m in a tactical 13:49.30.
20-year-old Jessica Milat (VIC, Cathy Woodruff) took out the Women’s 200m in a slick 22.75 (+1.2) to rise from 22nd to 12th on the Australian all-time list, charging home late to defeat Kristie Edwards (NSW, Andrew Murphy) in 22.81.
Commonwealth bronze medallist Abbey Caldwell (VIC, Gavin Burren) delivered a tactical masterclass to dismantle a star-studded Women’s 800m field, bursting away on the turn for home to clock 2:00.51 to defeat defending champion Claudia Hollingsworth (VIC, Craig Mottram) in 2:00.90.
Competing at his home track, Kurtis Marscahall (WA, Paul Burgess) laid it all on the line in a bid to chase the six-metre marker and was rewarded with gold and a 5.71m clearance, while Liam Adcock (QLD) took out the Men’s Long Jump with an 8.14m (+3.1) effort.
Liz Clay (QLD, Andres Behm) stamped her return to Australian soil from her new Phoenix base with a dominant win in the Women’s 100m Hurdles, tearing away from the field in a time of 12.74 (+2.1), while Mitchell Lightfoot (NSW, Alex Stewart) landed back on top in the Men’s 110m Hurdles in 13.65 (+1.3).
Samantha Dale (NSW, Andrew Murphy) took a leap back towards her best with a 6.45m (+2.3) jump to take down World Under 20 champion Delta Amidzovski (NSW, Becky Amidzovski) with 6.38m (+0.7), while Katie Gunn (NSW, Matt Horsnell) clinched bronze at 6.35m (-0.5).
A historic weekend of para athletics results were rounded out by another Australian T36 record of 29.64 (-0.9) over 200m from Mali Lovell (NSW, Katie Edwards, T36), as Rhiannon Clarke (WA, Danny Kevan, T38) took the win on the BASELINE system with a score of 96.60 for her time of 26.83-seconds.
After nine days of competition, the 2025 Australian Athletics Championships concluded today in Perth, rounding out one of the best editions championships in its history of over 100 years. The meet was supported by the Western Australian Government through Tourism WA, as well as VenueWest and Athletics West.
Full results from the 2025 Australian Open and Under 20 Athletics Championships can be found HERE, while results from the 2025 Australian Junior (U13-U18) Athletics Championships can be found HERE.
By Lachlan Moorhouse and Sascha Ryner, Australian Athletics
Posted 13/4/2025
