Teen track star Gout Gout has responded to comparisons made between him and iconic sprinter Usain Bolt after setting the athletics world ablaze with his record-breaking runs.
The 17-year-old Aussie sensation had jaws dropping in Brisbane this weekend when he clocked a staggering 200m time of 20.05 seconds, making it the fastest in the world for 2025, albeit just a hundredth of a second shy of his personal best.
Gout was boosted by a wind of +1.2 behind him and while the mark is 0.01 seconds short of his finest time, it is the quickest time on the planet in 2025.
Sitting down with Olympic champions Noah Lyles and Grant Holloway on the ‘Beyond the Records’ podcast, Gout was grilled about the mounting pressure of being compared to Bolt.
“I’m trying to be the next Gout Gout,” he said. “Obviously being compared to Usain Bolt, everyone wants to be the next star basically and Usain Bolt was the best sprinter, the best athlete.
“So being competitive, it’s obviously great but then I’m Gout Gout so I want to be able to make my name as big as his name and then people younger can be like ‘you’re going to be the next Gout Gout’ so I want to be like that.”
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Gout also showcased his blistering pace over 100 metres this Saturday in Brisbane, seizing the under-20 state crown with a run of 10.39 seconds against the wind, before a slight improvement to 10.38 seconds in the final, reports the Mirror US.
The sprinter clocked a wind-assisted personal best of 10.04 seconds at the Australian All Schools Championships last year, but his top legal time is 10.17, putting him in contention for the world championships in Japan this September.
Fresh from training with Lyles in Florida, Gout has already achieved something that has eluded the US track star. At the Joanna Stone Shield meet in Brisbane in February, he ran the 400m in 46.20s, almost a second faster than Lyles’ personal best and the quickest under-18 time by an Australian in 35 years.
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With all signs pointing to Gout being the next big thing in athletics, he told Lyles and Holloway that he’s setting his sights on the Olympics, particularly the 2032 Games in Brisbane.
“That’s the end goal for sure, running there [Brisbane],” he said. “L.A in 2028, I’m looking forward to that and I’ll be aiming to head there and the World Championships this year in Tokyo, I’m aiming to qualify obviously, and yeah 2032 is where I’m at for sure.”
However, his manager has urged caution about comparing him to Bolt. Speaking to ABC Sport, James Templeton said: “I’ve avoided using the ‘UB’ [Bolt] comparison. I think that’s unfair to a young athlete.
“For 18 months I’ve basically said a blanket ‘no’ to every media outlet in Australia that has asked. We just want to allow him to be a normal kid at school.
“Having seen a lot of great young athletes and sprinters over the years, I’m firmly convinced he has that something a little bit special to kick through to the very highest levels.”
