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Topics: Athletics, Jamaica, Noah Lyles, Usain Bolt, Gout Gout
Matthew Holt
Topics: Athletics, Jamaica, Noah Lyles, Usain Bolt, Gout Gout
Usain Bolt has named the perfect candidate to break his 16-year 100m world record and it isn't Noah Lyles or Gout Gout.
Bolt clocked an astonishing 9.58 seconds in Berlin back in 2009, which is yet to be beaten and has stood the test of time.
Now aged 38, Bolt has watched on some seven years after his retirement with not one sprinter seemingly up to the challenge.
Lyles' current best stands at 9.81 which he set in London just last year and the US track star is being heavily tipped to go one better.
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Meanwhile, up-and-coming viral sprint sensation Gout, aged just 17, is also being monitored carefully, with his own PB standing at 10.17.
So who is this fancied sprinter Bolt speaks so glowingly of?
It is none other than 23-year-old countryman Oblique Seville, who has the 16th quickest 100m time on record - producing a rapid 9.81 in August 2024.
And Bolt has since tipped his fellow Jamaican to go one better and beat his world record once and for all.
“I feel like Oblique can do it,“ Bolt told The Fix Podcast.
“If he can stay fit during the season and get it right, I feel he can do it, because I am sure there is something there, the ability to do it.
“Some of the time Oblique can be fragile. It’s a matter of the work situation or whatever, but if he’s doing enough work, he can do it.
"It’s a matter of time because he’s not missed the finals yet, so it’s just to get over the hump.”
Lyles himself has brazenly shown his confidence in recent years, admitting his life goal is to set a new world record and surpass Bolt's long-standing best time.
"I'm trying to get it done as soon as possible," Lyles said in August 2024.
"Unfortunately I don't have a crystal ball, so I can't give you an exact date.
"But as athletes we're always looking to improve ourselves, and we're always looking for greater challenges.
"I think everyone sees the world record as No. 1, that's incredible and No. 2, I want that to be me."
Gout, meanwhile, has played down suggestions he's the 'next Bolt' despite similarities in their running style.
"It's pretty cool because Usain Bolt is arguably the greatest athlete of all time and just being compared to him is a great feeling," Gout said (via news.com.au) in April.
"Obviously I'm Gout Gout so I'm trying make a name for myself. If I can get to the level he was that would be a great achievement."