Usain Bolt caused a stir in the world of athletics last year as he spoke highly about the 18-year-old Australian sprinter, Gout Gout, in glowing terms.
The former Jamaican athlete said the 18-year-old’s talent is “the same thing” he had at a similar age, which has now excited athletics fans that someone may soon break the world record 100m time Bolt set on August 16, 2009, at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin with a time of 9.58 seconds.
However, the world’s fastest man warned Gout about the transition required to transition into senior athletics and become as big a star in the sport as Bolt.
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Now, the 18-year-old has responded to the comments made by Bolt about the talent he possesses in an interview with The Rush Hour.
Gout Gout said: “To know that I am on the same pathway as him that he was and that I am doing the right things and even looking like him is amazing to hear.”
The Australian sprinter was full of praise for Bolt and his career, with the Jamaican seemingly being the key athletic inspiration for Gout.
He said: “Obviously, growing up and looking at the Beijing Olympics or the Rio Olympics, all the runs he ran; it was amazing watching it as a little kid. Seeing him run so fast and break world records and Olympic records and all that, he is definitely one of the sprinters, or the only sprinter I grew up watching.”
While Gout is clearly loving the comparison to Bolt, US sprint star Christian Coleman is not a fan.
Coleman wants the comparisons to end and wants Gout to be allowed to flourish without the burden of being likened to Bolt.
The US sprinter told 7News: “I will say I hate the fact that a lot of times they compare him to Bolt and say he will be the next one or whatever,” Coleman said.
“I think that he will just be Gout Gout. He’ll just be himself.
“I’m excited to see what he does.”
The comparison of Gout to the legendary Jamaican makes complete sense, as he set the Australian 200m record with a career-best time of 20.02 seconds in the Czech Republic last June.
Gout has already taken an important decision in his burgeoning career, as he is bypassing this year’s Commonwealth Games for a crack at the Under-20 world championships, a competition where Bolt rose to prominence more than two decades ago.
Topics: Gout Gout, Usain Bolt, Athletics
Brendan McGilligan