Aussie teen sensation Gout Gout isn’t putting a ceiling on his potential, declaring he can win Olympic gold and “dominate” sprinting “like (Usain) Bolt did”.
At just 17 years old, still completing high school in Queensland, Gout is already being spoken about as a future world champion.
He won the Australian 200-metre championship last month with a wind-assisted time of 19.84 seconds, the equal-fastest by anyone this year – though American Kenneth Bednarek’s time was legal – and the second-fastest by a man under 20 ever.
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Meanwhile Gout’s legal time of 20.04 at the Australian All Schools Championships last December surpassed the legendary Usain Bolt’s best U18 time.
He also recently broke the 10-second barrier in the 100 metres twice on the same day, running consecutive wind-assisted 9.99s in Perth.
But Gout told Fox Sports Australia’s The Back Page it was his second-place in the 200m at the World U20 Championships last year when he felt he burst onto the global sprint scene.
“That was the first time I competed on the international stage, and I came out with a silver medal,” Gout explained.
“My whole focus was obviously making it to the final, and I was coming in 11th, 12th (fastest), and making the final would have been a huge deal for me. And then coming second, I was like, maybe I can actually take this to the next level and show the world what I have – so that was definitely a pinpoint moment.
“And from then on, I’ve just showed the world what I can do.”
WATCH GOUT GOUT’S INTERVIEW ON THE BACK PAGE ABOVE!
The sudden rise into the global sprinting consciousness sees Gout truly believing he can do great things as his body continues to mature.
While he admits he tires of the comparisons to arguably the greatest sprinter of all-time, eight-time Olympic gold medallist Usain Bolt, Gout believes he can “dominate” the sport just like the Jamaican icon.
Asked about his limit, Gout said: “The limit is just obviously winning Olympics and winning World Championships, and honestly dominating like Bolt did. I think that’s a limit that’s reachable for me.”
He is eyeing the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028, but the Queenslander will make his global top-level debut at the World Championships in Tokyo in four months’ time, when he’s likely to do battle with American superstar Noah Lyles.
Lyles, 27, is the third-fastest ever over 200 metres running a 19.31, and won gold in the 100 metres at the Paris Games, running a 9.79.
Given Gout’s emerging superstar status Lyles is well aware of his young challenger and the pair already have a relationship.
“He called me little bro, so we have definitely have a great connection,” Gout said, speaking about a podcast interview he had with Lyles earlier this year.
“And obviously, I gave him a heads-up, I’m about to be there … I told him I’m running up his ass for sure.
“He messages me occasionally, and I told him congratulations and stuff like that. He’s a great guy.”
On Tuesday night, the team from The Back Page spotlighted a slow-motion clip of Gout running where he bounced off the ground during his stride, and almost floated in the air.
“It’s God-given talent, for sure,” Gout explained.
“And I think a lot of athletes are definitely gifted with it, but then when you train it, it becomes that next level.
“So it’s definitely God-given talent, but also training it to be the next level is something really important.”
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