Usain Boltâs wild reaction to rising Aussie sprint star
Global sprint star Usain Bolt has delivered his verdict on rising Australian athletics sensation Gout Gout.
Brisbane-born Gout, who is just 16, pipped one of Australiaâs most famous records at the Australian All Schools Championships on Saturday.
He broke Peter Normanâs 56-year-old national 200-metre record with a stunning time of 20.04 seconds in Brisbane â beating Normanâs 20.06 set at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics.
The time also edged Gout closer to American Erriyon Knightonâs record for the fastest 200 metres run by an athlete under the age of 18 â 19.84 seconds, set in 2021.
It pushed Boltâs own under-18 best over the distance of 20.13 seconds down to third spot â and made for yet another comparison to the champion Jamaican sprinter for Gout, who is revelling in the hype around his burgeoning career.
âIâve been getting pressure. My video went viral right before world juniors,â he said on Saturday.
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âYou know what they say, pressure makes diamonds. Iâm better than a diamond right now.â
Now the Jamaican sensation, who has eight Olympic gold medals, has weighed in with his opinion of the teenager. Asked to share his thoughts on Gout, Bolt offered just five words:
âHe looks like young me,â he wrote on Instagram.
Gout replied to Boltâs post on Instagram with a fire emoji and reposted it to his own stories.
Before Saturdayâs incredible run, Gout already held the under-16, under-18 and under-20 national records.
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Now that he has the open standard, greater goals such as a world-class sub-20 seconds for the 200 metres and sub-10 seconds for the 100 metres are on his mind.
âItâs definitely great. Iâve been chasing that record,â Gout said.
âItâs pretty crazy. Right now I canât process it, but tonight when I go to bed and think about it it will be pretty crazy for sure.
âThese are adult times and me, just a kid, Iâm running them, so itâs definitely going to be a great future for sure.â
Gout is also the fastest 16-year-old the world has seen and second all-time among under-18s â ahead of Bolt in both categories.
But the Jamaican legendâs 2009 record 200-metre run of 19.19 seconds remains the benchmark the world is chasing.
Gout had already set stratospheric expectations when he claimed silver at the world under-20s championships in August in a time of 20.60, then lowered his personal best to 20.29 at the Queensland All Schools Championships.
His 10.17 in the 100-metre final on Friday meant he arrived on Saturday as a five-time national record-holder.
He is also becoming accustomed to being in good company, having signed with Adidas and organised a training session with reigning Olympic 100-metre gold medallist Noah Lyles.
Gout, who turns 17 later this month, will be 20 years and seven months old at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
â with AAP
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