This year’s event was the most hyped of all Gifts, in part, because of a 17-year-old schoolboy, in year 12, who was competing. Such is the interest in this young man, 7000 spectators gathered in Stawell’s Central Park, double last year’s attendance, to see him run. He is Gout Gout. Of course, there are many other fine sprinters, including Lachlan Kennedy, who has beaten Gout. But in terms of lighting the sky with his blazing runs, Gout is the man of the moment. And yet at Stawell last weekend, both Gout and Kennedy were knocked out in the semis. Given their recent times in competition, 10 seconds or sub-10 seconds for 100 metres, for instance, it could be argued they were either both terribly unlucky or victims of a handicap system that got it wrong. This is not to diminish the runs by the other competitors, and in particular the ultimate winner, John Evans, who pushed Gout out of the semi. Evans won the final in 11.94 seconds from a 9.75-metre handicap. Gout has broken national records from under-16s. Just over a week ago, he recorded 19.84 seconds in the 200-metre national final. It was faster than Usain Bolt ran over 200 metres at the same age. It was done, however, with an illegal tail wind of 2.2m/sec; the limit is 2.0m/sec. Last December, Gout, racing in the Australian All Schools Championships, broke Peter Norman’s record for 200 metres that had stood since the 1968 Mexico Olympics. Notwithstanding the epithets of precision athleticism sometimes attached to sporting achievements, the human factor can never be discounted, either to the competitor or to those off-field. Handicapping for the Stawell Gift is not done by Gift organisers, but by the Victorian Athletic League. Its guidelines are extensive. Gout and Kennedy were racing against sprinters starting up to 7.5 metres and 8.75 metres ahead of them in their semi-finals.