Gout Gout misses out on £20K in sprinting drama as rules set for review after major upset

Gout Gout controversially missed out on a £20,000 cash prize at the 2025 Stawell Gift in , with event organisers now threatening to review their handicap rules after he suffered a major upset.

Despite being one of the favourites alongside Lachlan Kennedy, Gout failed to qualify for the final after finishing second in his semi-final race to John Evans.

Evans progressed with a fastest heat time of 12.13 while , who is the , unexpectedly crashed out.

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Evans went on to become the Stawell Gift men’s champion by running an incredible 11.94 in the final.

The swathes of fans who had turned up hoping to see Gout face his rival Kennedy in the final were left bitterly disappointed, with neither of Australia’s fastest sprinters able to overcome their handicaps. Gout specifically couldn’t overturn a 8.75m deficit against Evans.

Race winner Evans, a school teacher from South Australia, received a handicap of 9.75m, meaning he had to run 110.25m at Stawell, compared to the full distance of 120m.

In comparison, Lachlan Kennedy was racing off 0.25m, and Gout Gout was off 1 metre. They had to race 119.75m and 119m respectively.

The Victorian Athletics League (VAL) handicappers have since come under fire as neither Gout and Kennedy looked likely to close the gap on their rivals due to their considerable disadvantages, with many fans upset neither made the final.

VAL president Matt McDonough admitted Kennedy's performance might have deserved a spot in the final but suggested Gout did not run at his best, with his attempts to bridge the gap instead thwarted by wet conditions.

However, McDonough did mention that VAL could review the benchmark time set for handicapping in the Stawell Gift in the future.

Kennedy commented: "I think that maybe... is our target time, right? That [time of 12.25] to get Kennedy in that final, and maybe (he) should have been in that final."

"I think that's some sort of adjustment we'll just need to have a look at in the future to see whether we've got our times right, that the back markers can achieve it."

Despite his disappointment at missing out on the winners’ cash prize, Gout showed great sportsmanship by high-fiving and taking selfies with fans after the race.

Still, his efforts did not go unrewarded as he pocketed an appearance fee of £23,936 from a local businessman.