In a huge plot twist last night, the World Athletics Championships live from Tokyo took out the top spot overall with a 2,215,000 total TV reach that smashed even The Block out of the running for first place.
Attention was brief, however, with a national average of just 519,000, which is much closer to what is usually expected for the event. The spike could likely be attributed to the dominance of young Aussie superstar sprinter Gout Gout.
Appearing in his first major championship, the 17-year-old made it out of his heat last night, securing a place in the semi-finals – a feat that even Usain Bolt didn’t achieve.
All eyes have been on Gout for the last few years as the boy from Ipswich has collected accolades and smashed records, edging closer and closer to breaking several Bolt’s world records.
Unphased by the comparisons to Bolt, who he describes as a “great guy” Gout said it has been a “great experience… running against the big dogs”.
“It is definitely great to know that I’m up against [the] top 24 in the world, pretty much. So it’s just a great experience,” he said.
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Finishing in third in 20.23 seconds in the 200 metres last night, Gout is looking like a shoo-in for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. With his semi-final taking place again tonight, Nine will likely hit another high tonight as the nation gets behind the young legend in the making.
