The sight was, frankly, ridiculous. Crowded around 17-year-old Gout Gout were 30 reporters – most of them middle aged men – asking the year 12 student about a running race. The mass was crammed in tight, sweaty and rich in odour, in a cavern under Japan National Stadium still humid from the day despite a late shower leaving a shimmer on the track.
But this mania is now customary in the age of Gout. The boy himself saw the funny side, giving his first genuine smile amid the madness, when asked what it makes him feel to be the subject of such fascination. “It’s definitely … confidence for sure,” he said.
