Publicity frenzy surrounds Gout Gout, but he has the super power to cope
The sight was, frankly, ridiculous.Crowded around 17-year-old Gout Gout were 30 reporters – most of them middle aged men – asking the year 12 student about a running race.The mass was crammed in tight, sweaty and rich in odour, in a cavern under Japan National Stadium still humid from the day despite a late shower leaving a shimmer on the track.But this mania is now customary in the age of Gout.The boy himself saw the funny side, giving his first genuine smile amid the madness, when asked what it makes him feel to be the subject of such fascination.
“It’s definitely… confidence for sure,” he said,Seconds after Gout walked off, he was replaced in the same spot by Noah Lyles,The pair have been connected by a mutual sponsor, but in front of the sport’s greatest showman the pack of press actually thinned,Lyles had just set down a benchmark for the 200m final with a 19,51sec run, the fastest in the world this year, but now appeared even more in his element.
After a handful of questions over a jovial two minutes, the American press officer signalled his star athlete could take just one more.Inevitably, its subject was Gout.“He’s more talented than I was,” Lyles replied, offering a hearty laugh.It seems like everyone this week, from sprint king Usain Bolt, to World Athletics president Sebastian Coe, has been asked for their opinion on the Australian teenager, the youngest competitor in the 200m in Tokyo.For all the promise the Australian showed in making the semi-finals, his searing times over the past year, and the general public’s obsession with him, it was Lyles’ response that highlighted Gout’s status and the level of respect he has already gained within international track.
The superstar and three-time defending gold medallist began a considered and thoughtful reflection on the teenager’s future, lasting almost a minute.“He’s an amazing kid, he’s got a great head on him, he’s got a great team around him,” Lyles began.“It’s going to be interesting to see how he develops.The thing that I always look for when I’m looking at younger talent is, ‘hey, are you just going to be able to train into shape?’ Because when you’re in high school, you’re able to just get races all the time whenever you want.But as a pro, you’ve got to come prepared already.
“And then, too, just seeing how they put some weight room on him as time develops, naturally, not just like all at once,But again, he’s got a great coach, she’s constantly looking to be a better coach, and she’s constantly looking to be the best for him, so we’ll see,I’d say the future looks bright for him,”Gout might have grown three centimetres in the past year, but when he walked out from the marshalling area on to the track alongside his semi-final rivals, he was a station wagon among SUVs,His ability to beat many of them already, despite their massive physical advantage, is a revelation Gout is only beginning to appreciate.
“The biggest eye-opener is knowing that I can compete at the young age I am, against the best men in the world,” he said.Sign up to Australia SportGet a daily roundup of the latest sports news, features and comment from our Australian sports deskafter newsletter promotion“The thing that I have on them is time.They may not have 15 years, but I’ve got 15 years for sure.So I know that I can keep running, and I know that if I can do this at 17, I could do this at 25 as well, and I’ll be even better at 25.”He didn’t mention it explicitly, but the reference was clear.
Gout will be 24 when the Olympics roll through Brisbane,The teenager likes using the phrase “add fuel to my fire” in his media engagements, but for his own personal inferno the promise of 2032 is the most powerful accelerant of all,The Sydney 2000 Olympics celebrated their 25th anniversary this week with a celebratory dinner inside the stadium at Homebush,There was Cathy Freeman, Ian Thorpe and, yes, Nikki Webster,These identities defined a generation of Australians, and Gout is on a similar path.
Tokyo was but a step, and though Gout’s stride was firm in making the semi-finals and surviving the publicity bonanza, it’s clear the burden will get no lighter.His discussions with media rarely delve beyond his preferred tone of sprint swagger mixed with schoolyard slang, but he offered his career’s most telling insight just before he wandered out the door.Was there too much expected of him?“I definitely think I put more expectation on myself than the whole country does on me, so I think that’s one of the things I’ve got to chill out,” he said.But he went on to say that harnessing the pressure and applying it equally to his training and races, he believes, will make him go faster.“It’s definitely a super power.
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Temu’s UK operation doubles revenues and pre-tax profits
The UK operation of the Chinese online marketplace Temu doubled revenues and pre-tax profits last year, as British consumers snapped up products offered by the super-budget retailer.Temu UK reported revenues of $63.3m (£46.4m) last year, almost double the $32m in 2023, while pre-tax profits similarly surged from $2m to $3.9m, accounts show
Memes and nihilistic in-jokes: the online world of Charlie Kirk’s alleged killer
On the day that 22-year-old Tyler Robinson shot and killed rightwing activist Charlie Kirk, prosecutors say, he texted his roommate to confess what he’d done. While appearing to admit to the murder and describe how he was planning to retrieve his gun, he pivoted to mention why he had carved messages into the ammunition.“Remember how I was engraving bullets? The fuckin messages are mostly a big meme,” Robinson texted, according to authorities.Robinson’s shooting of Kirk has put the spotlight on the intersection of political violence and an increasingly nihilistic online world that promotes misinformation and extremism. It’s a confluence that raises fundamental questions about how internet culture influences both extremist attacks and how we understand them, at a time when some of the biggest online spaces are increasingly more divisive and less moderated
ChatGPT developing age-verification system to identify under-18 users after teen death
OpenAI will restrict how ChatGPT responds to a user it suspects is under 18, unless that user passes the company’s age estimation technology or provides ID, after legal action from the family of a 16-year-old who killed himself in April after months of conversations with the chatbot.OpenAI was prioritising “safety ahead of privacy and freedom for teens”, chief executive Sam Altman said in a blog post on Tuesday, stating “minors need significant protection”.The company said that the way ChatGPT responds to a 15-year-old should look different to the way it responds to an adult.Altman said OpenAI plans to build an age-prediction system to estimate age based on how people use ChatGPT, and if there is doubt, the system will default to the under-18 experience. He said some users “in some cases or countries” may also be asked to provide ID to verify their age
How memes, gaming and internet culture all relate to the Charlie Kirk shooting
Hello, and welcome to TechScape. Dara Kerr here, filling in for Blake Montgomery, who promises he’ll come back from vacation. Meanwhile, I’m looking at the memes, gaming and internet culture behind the shooting of Charlie Kirk.The bullet that killed conservative activist was inscribed with a message: “Notices bulge OwO whats this?” The online world quickly recognized the reference. It’s a phrase used in internet culture to troll people in online role-play communities, specifically furries (a subculture that cosplays as anthropomorphic animal characters)
How AI is undermining learning and teaching in universities | Letter
In discussing generative artificial intelligence (‘It’s going to be a life skill’: educators discuss the impact of AI on university education, 13 September) you appear to underestimate the challenges that large language model (LLM) tools such as ChatGPT present to higher education. The argument that mastering AI is a life skill that students need in preparation for the labour market is unconvincing. Our experience is that generative AI undermines teaching and learning, bypasses reflection and criticality, and deflects students from reading original material.Student misuse of generative AI is widespread. Claims that AI helps preparation or research is simply cover for students taking shortcuts that do not develop their learning skills
Top UK artists urge Starmer to protect their work on eve of Trump visit
Leading British artists including Mick Jagger, Kate Bush and Paul McCartney have urged Keir Starmer to stand up for creators’ human rights and protect their work ahead of a UK-US tech deal during Donald Trump’s visit.In a letter to the prime minister, they argued Labour had failed to defend artists’ basic rights by blocking attempts to force artificial intelligence firms to reveal what copyrighted material they have used in their systems.Senior figures in US tech are accompanying the US president on his state visit, where an announcement is expected on a UK-US tech pact covering areas including AI.Elton John, one of the letter’s signatories, said government proposals to let AI companies train their systems on copyright-protected work without permission “leaves the door wide open for an artist’s life work to be stolen”.“We will not accept this,” he added
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