- Norman was the record holder in the 200 meters for 56 years
- Won the silver medal at the 1968 Olympic Games
- Gout Gout broke the long-standing record this weekend
Peter Norman’s family are not sad that his long-standing 200m sprint record has been broken by rising teenage sensation Gout Gout, but are delivering an important message to the 16-year-old.
Gout Gout, who was compared to world record holder Usain Bolt at the same age, broke Norman’s record in the 200 meters at the Australian All School Athletics Championships in Brisbane on Saturday.
Norman was a silver medalist in the 200 meters at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, setting an Australian record of 20.06 seconds.
He is widely remembered for standing in solidarity with Tommie Smith and John Carlos during their Black Power salute on the medal podium by wearing a human rights badge.
Norman’s career also included multiple national championships in the 200 meters and 100 meters.
However, Norman’s 56-year-old national record for the 200 meters was broken this weekend, with Gout Gout posting an astonishing time of 20.04 seconds, surpassing Norman’s previous record.
Gout Gout, 16, broke Norman’s long-standing record in the 200 meters at the Australian All School Athletics Championships in Brisbane
Norman (left) aims for the silver medal at the Mexico City Games, where he set a record that stood for 56 years until Gout Gout broke it
Gout Gout has been compared to world record holder Usain Bolt at the same age
Now, Norman’s surviving family members have taken to social media to praise Gout Gout for his efforts, including Norman’s daughter Sandy.
“Congratulations Gout Gout from one of Peter Norman’s daughters and the rest of our family,” she wrote.
“Dad would have absolutely loved this.”
Norman’s cousin, Matt, also praised Gout Gout for its historic run.
“Today is one of the proudest moments of my life,” Norman said.
‘The Australian Gout Gout has just broken my uncle Peter Norman’s record, which has stood since 1968. I am writing to him personally to congratulate him. Wow, what a star.’
Before Saturday’s incredible run, Gout already held the under-16, under-18 and under-20 national records.
Now that he’s using the open standard, he’s thinking about bigger goals, like a world-class sub-20 seconds in the 200 meters and sub-10 seconds in the 100 meters.
Norman famously stood on the podium when American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos protested racial discrimination during the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City
Gout Gout celebrates his recent success with his mother after breaking the 200 meters record
‘It’s definitely great. I’m chasing that record,” Gout said.
‘It’s quite crazy. Right now I can’t process it, but when I go to bed tonight and think about it, it will definitely be pretty crazy.
“These are grown-up times and I, just a kid, am leading them, so it’s definitely going to be a great future.”
Andrew Faichney, general manager of Athletics Australia, said there was no ceiling on what Gout Gout could achieve.
“He is a great talent and is being well nurtured by his coach Di Sheppard and by our high performance system,” Faichney said in a statement.
‘His silver medal at the Under-20 World Cup already showed us that he has what it takes to compete internationally.
“The world is his oyster and we look forward to seeing what he can do in the coming years as he makes his mark on his first senior teams.”
Gout, who was compared to Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt at the same age, enjoyed all the hype.
‘I got pressure. My video went viral just before the Junior World Cup,” Gout said on Saturday.
‘You know what they say: pressure makes diamonds. I’m better than a diamond now.’