Gout Gout’s parents explain story behind record-breaking son’s actual name

The parents of Australia’s latest sprinting sensation have revealed their speedy son is not actually named Gout Gout.

Speaking exclusively to 7NEWS, Gout Gout’s parents have explained how the name Gout Gout came to be, blaming it on a paperwork mix-up while they were fleeing South Sudan.

Gout Gout’s actual name is in fact Guot, and is pronounced “gwot”.

And now his parents want to change their son’s name back to the original spelling (and pronunciation) after learning the true meaning of “gout”.

“His name is Guot, it’s supposed to be Guot,” his father Bona told 7NEWS.

“When I see people called him Gout Gout, I’m not really happy for him.”

Guot (Gwot) became Gout due to an Arabic spelling mix-up by the Sudanese government when Bona and his wife Monica fled to Egypt.

Their destination was Canada but the Australian Government was able to act fast and its documents arrived first, thus changing the course of their lives forever and landing them in Brisbane (where Gout Gout was born).

“I know that Gout Gout is a disease name but I don’t want my son to be called a disease name ... it’s something that’s not acceptable,” Bona said.

Gout is obviously an inflammatory arthritis that causes an “intense attack” on joints and a lot of pain.

It’s caused by uric acid crystals that form in and around the joints and is more common in men.

One thing is for certain, it is certainly not synonymous with moving fast.

The problem now, however, is that Gout Gout is the name on the athletic world’s lips after he smashed Peter Norman’s famous 200m national record (set at the 1968 Olympics) at the Australian All Schools Championships on Saturday.

Bona said he was keen to change the name for family reasons as well.

“It’s culturally very important and in particular if (family) see Guot Guot running they connect to the name but when they hear Gout Gout they’ve lost the meaning of it,” he said.

The parents say a solution is coming and they will “fix it” soon.

Of course, Gout Gout is already being called GOAT GOAT (greatest of all time) by excited fans, and ‘Gout of this world’ has also been trending.

“For me, I don’t mind whatever you want to call him,” Bona said.

“Let them call him (that) but for myself I know his name is Guot, that’s what I know. His mum is calling him Guot and, the same here, I call him Guot.”