Adidas recently signed Australian teenage sprinter Gout Gout to a multi-year contract. How did they beat rivals Puma and Nike to secure the services of a 16-year-old player?
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Gaut Gaut, a 16-year-old Australian sprinter, will receive $6 million after signing a multi-year contract with Adidas. Gout Gout signed his contract during the Junior World Championships in Peru in August this year. Adidas beat rivals Puma and Nike to sign Gaut Gaut, who is seen as the ‘next Usain Bolt’. Notably, Puma signed Usain Bolt in 2002 when he was the same age as Gout.
How did Adidas complete the deal with Gout Gout?
Simply put, there were two criteria Adidas met when signing Gout Gout. The first was that Gou Gou, one of seven children, would not have to leave Australia. Another was the opportunity to train in Florida with American athlete Noah Lyles, who is also signed to Adidas, and his coach Lance Broman. “Australia is just waking up to this kid, but these shoe companies… have known about him for two years,” Gout Gout manager James Templeton told The Sydney Morning. -Told the Herald.
Gout twice broke the Australian under-16 200m record at the 2022 Australian All Schools Athletics Championships in Adelaide. “They (Adidas) always told me… not an urgency, but a real desire to get this player – (A) ‘He’s going to be ours’ (message). . They’ve communicated that well to me all along,” added James Templeton. “So the CEO of Adidas AG in Germany was involved. Not directly with me, but I knew he was involved with Mr. Spencer Nel, who did the deal.” he further stated.
In early December, Gaut broke Usain Bolt’s under-16 record by clocking 20.04 seconds at the 2024 Australian Schools Championships. Bolt had previously recorded a time of 20.13 seconds at a track and field meet in Barbados in 2003. “It’s pretty crazy,” Gaut Gaut said. “I can’t process it right now, but I’ll think about it when I go to bed tonight. These are adults. And I’m just a kid, pushing them into a corner,” he added.
