Gout Gout's 'next Usain Bolt' status under threat as two teenage sensations rival Australian star

Gout Gout may need to start looking over his shoulder, quite literally, as the Australian superstar runs the risk of losing his ‘next Usain Bolt’ status.

For months now, Gout has been viewed as the natural heir to the legendary Jamaican sprinter having broken numerous records from a young age.

The 17-year-old has previously stated he thrives off being known as the ‘next Usain Bolt’.

“It definitely feels great, I’ve heard that a lot of sprinters run here really good. I know Usain Bolt ran here nine times, so the event clearly has a great tradition,” Gout said in June.

“Who doesn’t want to be Usain Bolt? Being compared to Usain Bolt feels great but I would like to put my personality in the upcoming story.”

Sorato Shimizu has set a new 100m world record for his age group.

However, there are not one, but two, runners younger than Gout who’ll challenge the Australian in track events in the future. Last month, Japanese youngster Sorato Shimizu smashed the world record for the fastest 100m for under 18s.

The 16-year-old ran the 100m in 10 seconds flat at the Inter High School Championships in his native Japan.

Not only did he win the race by almost three tenths of a second, but Shimizu also beat the world record for the age group, which was jointly-held by Christian Miller and Puripol Boonson who ran 10.06 seconds in 2023, both at the age of 17.

And earlier this month, American star-in-the-making Cooper Lutkenhaus became the 18th-fastest 800m runner of all time as the 16-year-old ran a 1min 42.27sec in Oregon at the weekend. Averaging a speed of 17.5 mph, Lutkenhaus finished second in Oregon to Donavan Brazier, but the former clocked a time that would have been enough to win gold at every 800m Olympic event, bar 2024, 2016 and 2012.

Cooper Lutkenhaus celebrates his second-placed finish in the 800m / Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images

American teen outperforming LeBron James

After the race, Steve Magness, a coach to some of the top distance runners in the world, said: “Cooper Lutkenhaus beat two world champs and finished a tenth behind another [Brazier]. It’s mind-blowing. There are no superlatives. His performance makes high-school LeBron [James] look like a nobody.”

On the 800m event last weekend, Brazier said: “I saw someone coming up and I was like, ‘Dang, this could be the high-schooler.’”

“This kid’s phenomenal. I’m glad I’m 28 and hopefully won’t have to deal with him in his prime because that dude is definitely special.”

On the race itself, Lutkenhaus stated: “I obviously wasn’t supposed to make the team, a lot of people didn’t think I’d make the final, so being able to do that was just a special moment.”

Attention, now, turns to the 2025 World Athletics Championship in Tokyo, where Gout is expected to race.

The Australian will hope he can hold his nerve and reinforce his status as the best teenage runner in the world as he looks to follow in Bolt’s footsteps.