All aspiring athletes dream of meeting their idols while they are young.

Subscribe now for unlimited access.

or signup to continue reading

At the Australian Track and Field Championships on April 12, thousands of people turned up to watch various superstars, with the biggest name being Gout Gout.

Shire resident and Caringbah High School student Sienna Bass poses with Gout Gout at the Australian Track and Field Championships on April 12, 2026. Picture supplied

It was a mini version of Beatlemania - teens screaming at him to sign just about anything and he duly stood there for 30 minutes doing just that.

But he had a big surprise in store for one teenage fan - he took off his size-10 adidas running shoe, signed it, and while the thousands stood there holding their breath, he handed it to an official, pointed to one teenager who then gave it to that excited fan.

That fan was Shire resident and Caringbah High student Sienna Bass, a potential superstar herself.

"Oh my gosh, this is the best day of my life," the 15-year-old said.

"I can't believe I have his shoe, and it's signed too."

Sienna made her way to the front of the throng where Gout posed for photographs.

"I'm not sure if people like Gout and all the big names in the sport know exactly what it means to younger athletes when they do things like this. It is the best feeling, because it also makes you want what they have," she said.

Junior championships

Next weekend that fire in the belly of Sienna Bass will be on show in Brisbane as she and a small band of gifted Shire athletes join the NSW team heading north for the Junior National Track and Field Championships, finishing on April 20.

Bass will compete in the 3000m final for the under-16s girls and is in personal-best shape. She is hoping to break 10 minutes, but it is a stacked field of 44 junior superstars.

In 2025 Sienna burst from anonymity when she led home all female teenagers to win that category of the 11km Sutherland 2 Surf. She was joined on the winners podium that day by her fellow Cronulla Track Club squad teammate, Woolooware High's Jared Hurly, who took out the boys' teenage section of the famed race.

He too is heading to Brisbane to compete in the under-17 2000m steeplechase and the under-17 3000m where he is a possible medal chance.

Matthew Faulkner is another star headed north with medal aspirations. He trains with the vaunted Outfit Coaching squad and will run in the under-15 3000m final and the 1500m, while his sprinting teammates Taurus Traino goes into battle with a live chance in the under-20 400m and Tilly Delfs runs in the 20s women's 400m.

Outfit's stable star, Ivy Boothroyd is in the under-20 800m and she is fresh off running her heart out in making the Open 800m final last weekend when sixth behind Commonwealth Games medalist Abby Caldwell.

Boothroyd looks a standout, but in her age division is another Shire girl, who is in sparkling form, Mia Bridgeland.

In the men's under-15 400m, the Shire has Finn Doyle also from the Cronulla Track Club. He is a strong medal chance but may have to settle for a minor one as WA's Luke Weber is ranked in the top three in the world for this age group.

The outstanding best friends and rivals, Neve Jenkins and Tammin Lampret, will lock horns in the 100m hurdles and the 100m sprint.

The girls went to school together and have been running the quinella in the hurdles at school right through to nationals for the past seven years.

George Lambousis lines up in the 100m and 200m in the under-15s. He'll clash with Shire arch-rival Finn Doyle in the 200m.

There are a few more going to Brisbane letting the country know the Shire is still very a strong force indeed.

As for the excited Sienna Bass, she not only landed Gout's signed running shoe, but also Jess Hull's name bib last weekend.

"I don't know why she picked me. I just smiled and asked, as did others and she chose me," she said.

Bass will see a couple of familiar Shire faces in the field of 44 during the 3km final in Brisbane.

Grace Delander from Menai and Olivia Kalamvokis, both brilliant 3km runners, will be there pushing her along in what is shaping as one of the events of the five-day meet.

But, all that aside, the biggest star at the meet is St George's Izzy Louison-Roe who is down to jump in the 20s high jump, and she will enter these junior champions as probably the shortest-priced favourite to win her event.