Sprinter Gout, 18, out for season with hamstring tear
Australian sprinter Gout Gout, 18, is set to miss the remainder of the season after tearing his left hamstring while training in Brisbane. The injury, confirmed by an MRI report as a grade-three tear, rules him out of the World Athletics Under-20 Championships in Eugene, Oregon, in August — the event he had prioritised after choosing to skip this summer's Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. The setback interrupts a breakthrough year for one of the sport's most closely watched young talents.
A grade-three tear is a complete rupture of the muscle or tendon and can take three to six months or longer to heal fully. Gout said he was "very disappointed" but accepted the injury as part of the sport, and would focus on rehabilitation with the aim of returning in 2027 "better and stronger and faster". Australian Athletics backed him, saying he has "a long and exciting athletics career ahead". Earlier in the year he ran a world U20 record of 19.67 seconds to retain his 200m national title — quicker than Usain Bolt's time at the same age — and had made his senior Diamond League debut in Oslo in June.
- Gout Gout, 18, out for the season with a grade-three hamstring tear.
- He will miss the U20 World Championships in Oregon in August.
- The sprinter aims to return stronger in 2027.