Gout Gout given deadline to 'prove he's better than Usain Bolt' after stunning 200m record run

Australian sprinter Gout Gout has been issued a deadline to prove he is 'better than Jamaican legend Usain Bolt' after another brilliant performance.

The 17-year-old amazed the crowd at the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold in Ostrava on Tuesday night (24 June), with a scintillating sprint helping him finish the race ahead of the pre-race favourite, Cuban runner Reynier Mena.

This was his first European race. But the track and field world had heard about Gout's brilliance in Australia after he burst on to the scene last December with a 20.04 finish to break the Australian national record.

Many have touted him to be the man to beat Usain Bolt's world records after his exploits in recent races.

And Gout once again proved that he is on his way to the top after a 20.02 time in Ostrava to set his personal best and break the national record.

Gout Gout will compete at the World Championships in Tokyo [Photo by Morgan Hancock/Getty Images]

Gout has managed to do brilliantly in the recent competitions, already clocking under 20 sec timing once.

At 17, he is drawing comparisons with Bolt, who also set many junior records, before going on to win multiple Olympic and World Championship gold medals.

However, Bolt's 19.93 mark at 17, is something Gout still needs to get the better of, which is going to be the next challenge for the Australian.

Bolt was 17 and only four months away from his birthday when he ran the 19.93 sec race at the CARIFTA Games in Bermuda.

Gout's birthday is in December, which means he has around six months to once again break a Bolt record and prove to the world that the early comparisons are true.

Is Gout Gout the next Usain Bolt? (Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Track and field world on Gout's performance

Those watching on have since shared their thoughts about Gout after his stellar 200m performance.

An account on X tweeted: "This is getting quite Bolt-esque. At 17, close to his 18th birthday, Bolt ran 19.93... Gout Gout’s 18th birthday is more than six months away..."

While an Australian track and field journalist said: "As someone who’s watched Gout Gout up close a lot now, this phase from 50 to150 [metres] is only getting better. His start was faster, his launch into the turn was clean - this is electric to watch. A new Aus record on his European debut, can’t wait for what’s in store over the coming week."

The Australian sprinter has shown that he can breach the 20 second mark previously when he ran a 19.84 race to win the Australian national title in April. But the time was not counted to be legal due to a wind speed of +2.2 metres per second.

Gout Gout won the 200m race despite not being the favourite (MICHAL CIZEK/AFP via Getty Images)

After the stellar performance, Gout told reporters: "I feel good. New personal best, new national record in my first European race.

"I don’t feel any pressure. Because as soon as I step out on that track, it’s just me by myself and what I’ve got to do – my favourite thing, and that’s to run.

"So, I just go out there and run and nothing stops me from doing that … Get some more races in me and [the 20-second barrier] will drop for sure.”

With the World Championships set to to take place in Tokyo later this year, Gout will be the sprinter to keep a close eye on as it will be interesting to see how he performs against the best 200m runners in the world.