World Athletics Championships: Science says Gout Gout can challenge the world’s best – if he’s close after 100m

Since his breakthrough Australian 200m record performance last year, biomechanists have been analysing every Gout race as they seek to unlock the key to his extraordinary talents.

The latest is a comparison of Gout’s 19.84sec Australian title win back in April and defending world champion Noah Lyle’s recent 200m victory in 19.74sec at the Diamond League Final in Zurich.

Movement scientist Dr Dylan Hicks, from Flinders University, says Gout’s back end of his race, from 100m-200m, is clearly his strength and a comparison of the unofficial times from Lyles race show the 17-year-old is quicker – 9.30sec to 9.47sec.

“It’s all about the backend of his race,” Hicks said.

“You would definitely say Gout has the speed for sure but it will be just how close he is to his competitors in the first 100 metres.

“He’s going to be in the mix, it’s just whether he is going to be in touch after the first 100.

“I think he can make the final but there are obviously a few guys stacking up now and I guess the advantage that he may have compared to some of the others who have been racing a bit more over the season, and already competed in the 100m, is that he has focused just on the 200.

“He’s definitely going to scare some people with his come home speed.”

In his wind-assisted Australian title run Gout covered the final 100m in only 37 steps with a step length of 2.51m and a step frequency of 3.98Hz (steps/sec) which is a very low step frequency compared to other elite sprinters.

He has been compared with the great Usain Bolt, with even the man himself acknowledging the similarities in style, and the scientific evidence supports it.

Gout’s step length peaked at 2.82m between 150-200m which is similar to what the great Usain Bolt achieved between the 70-80m mark in his 100m world record of 9.58sec in Berlin in 2009.

According to Hicks’ detailed analysis, Gout’s true advantage appears to be the reduced mechanical cost when at maximal speed thanks to his low bodyweight and light limbs.

He says the teenager’s large step length was “unique” given it compares with Bolt despite them being dramatically different physical specimens. Gout has grown 3cm this year but he is still only 183cm and around 68kg while Bolt was 195cm and 94kg.

“Compared to other elite athletes, we hypothesize Gout has a longer lower limb length (greater trochanter to ball of foot) relative to his torso length, which allows his hip to travel further during each ground contact,” Hicks writes.

“Longer step length also leads to a longer flight time (when both feet are off the ground) when at top speed, suggesting what happens when Gout’s foot hits the ground is critical.

“For Gout to achieve a short ground contact time coupled with a long flight time, he creates a large vertical impulse (Force x time) by exerting a large ground reaction force. What is important here is that we suspect he delivers this force at a much lighter body mass than his competitors, which is a real advantage.

“To deliver high amounts of force in a short period, Gout displays extremely fast thigh angular velocities (pushing thigh from front to back), rapid extension of the lead leg into the ground (which doesn’t carry much mass), plus immense stiffness in the leg and ankle (minimal compression of the limb to deliver the force).

“This also relates to his amazing ability to store and release elastic energy through his muscle-tendon complex upon ground contact.”

Gout spent time training with Lyles earlier in the year in the US – they share the same sponsor adidas – with the Olympic 100m champion impressed with how the Australian has handled the build-up to his first major championships.

“The biggest thing that is going to aid him is of course growing and maturing and getting grown-man muscles when the time is right,” Lyles said this week in Tokyo.

“I really liked what he, his coach and his team did this year where they just got wins under their belt.

“Building up to worlds I really like the idea and concept because getting wins underneath your belt and knowing you’re just on the cusp of running faster, it builds a lot of confidence.”

Lyles said he’s seen many child prodigy’s struggle to make the progression from junior to senior ranks.

“I have watched a lot of people who have translated from the college scene to the pro scene and have struggled a little bit with OK I was the top dog now I’m a fish in a bigger pond, almost an ocean really,” Lyles said.

“It is very important to have some confidence because if you get beat against the rock too many times it gets very hard to say I’m going to get better.

“It’s really good to have confidence and wins under your belt going into a big championship and he’s done that.”

Gout lowered his Australian record to 20.02sec in his first race off the plane in Europe in June during a short trip to coincide with school holidays.

The heats of the 200m are on Wednesday night, followed by the semi-final on Thursday and final on Friday.