John inspired by Gout rivalry
Podium dream for Brisbane 2032
Josiah John had the best view on the planet when Gout Gout burst into international prominence last week with the fastest 200m ever run by any 16-year-old and any Australian.
Gout, or Guot according to his father Bona who said a spelling error when the family fled Sudan for Egypt resulted in the naming blunder, channelled Usain Bolt with his blitzkrieg this month.
“He looks like young me,” Bolt said as Gout hit the turbocharger in the last third of the race to streak away from his opponents in the phenomenal time of 20.04sec. Bolt ran 20.13 at 16.
Peter Norman set the previous Australian record of 20.06 when he claimed the silver medal at the Mexico City Olympics in 1968.
Unfortunately for John, the Cottesloe 17-year-old’s view of Gout’s win came from the midst of the comet trail left by the freakish Queenslander at the national school carnival in Brisbane.
John, whose time of 20.87 smashed the WA junior record, came second in a race that is likely to become as famous as many Olympic events.
And it has forced him to reassess his goals after an experience that remains surreal.
“It was crazy,” John said.
“Last year when we raced there was no coverage but this time you turn around and there was media everywhere.”
“I’m pretty good friends with him, because we’ve been racing each other for years, but I went to say hi to him on the warm up track and there were five big cameras from news channels on us.”
The pair have been opponents – and friends – for three years with John winning their first couple of encounters over 100m before Gout triumphed in their most recent meetings.
Josiah John, left, with winner Gout Gout and third place-getter Jackson Moule after the 100m race.
Their similar ages, rapid development and pathway to national colours means it is likely that they could share a rivalry over the next decade or more.
Both have their eyes on the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028 but recognise that they will be closer to their peaks in 2032 when the games are held in Brisbane.
It is a tantalising prospect to have two local talents potentially vying for gold on home soil.
Gout has set a high bar for aspiring runners around the world, not just in his own backyard, but John identified that challenge as ideal for all athletes.
“Although he is my friend, I am motivated to beat him but he has also given me something extra to strive for,” John said.
“I had my goals set to beat him but now I am going to have to lift my goals even higher if I want to do better and win races and go further into the sport.
“Gout 100% motivates me to get faster and get to that next level. We could be up against each other for years to come.”
Josiah John coming around the bend in the 200m race. He smashed the WA under 18 record.
John preferred hockey when he started at Cottesloe Primary School and had few expectations when he competed in early school races.
It was soon apparent that he had something special and started working with sprint coach Asad Hosseini and competing at the UWA Athletics club.
“The mum of one of my hockey friends heard me say that I wanted to win the primary school race and so she introduced me to this running coach who still my coach,” he said.
“It has gone in big chunks in the five years since then.
“I went to the state carnival, then won it the next year, then went to the nationals and it’s been progressing since then.”
He sustained spinal stress fractures three years ago, ending his long jump career and any prospect of emulating Carl Lewis as a hybrid jumper and sprinter, but had been rewarded for concentrating on his running.
John said that his parents were athletic but had not been involved in adult sport.
“My mum and granddad always told me that they used to win all the school races, but never got the opportunity to do it at a higher level,” he said.
“My dad was very sporty as well but he grew up in India and had very few chances to go further in sport.”
Now John has the chance to do so. He will be in year 12 at Shenton College next year but has his future mapped out and will be climbing towards Brisbane 2032. So too his friend Gout.
Another UWA athlete is facing a different battle to John.
Star UWA triathlete Jonathan Sammut, whose charming valedictory speech was a highlight of the 2022 student graduation, will be off his bike for an extended period after a horrific crash at the Busselton Ironman event.
Sammut sustained compound fractures of the femur, tibia and fibula, as well as an ACL tear, after crashing early in the cycling leg at Busselton.
Jon Sammut in action.
He has been in hospital since the crash but surgery has been delayed several times due to complications with the injuries.