Australia’s 16-year-old sprint sensation Gout Gout will pocket $6 million from a multi-year deal he signed with Adidas, a contract that was signed during the Junior World Championships in Peru. Adidas had to beat Nike and Puma to gain the signature of what many consider to be the successor to Usain Bolt.
Puma had taken a chance by signing Bolt when he was at the same age as Gout. Adidas secured the Australian’s signature by ensuring two criterias that were put in front of them. One was that Gout, part of seven children, would continue to stay in Australia. The other was the carrot of training with Noah Lyles and his coach Lance Brauman in Florida, which was dangled in front of the soon to be 17-year-old.
“Australia has just woken up to this kid. But these shoe companies … they’ve known all about him for two years,” said Gout’s manager James Templeton to the Sydney Morning Herald. “They (Adidas) always conveyed to me … not an urgency, but a real desire to get this guy – [A] ‘he’s going to be ours’ [message]. They successfully conveyed that to me all along,” Templeton said.
Once Gout Gout’s 100m and 200m performances in the Australian All Schools Athletics Championships went viral, it was clear why there was so much clamour over his signature. While many young track and field athletes show promise but taper out when the time to compete among the best in the world arrives, Gout’s intriguing potential means that the risk might well be worth it.
“Put it this way, the CEO of Adidas AG in Germany, was involved – not directly with me, but I was aware he was involved with Spencer Nel, the guy who did the deal,” Templeton said.
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