Usain Bolt says Australian sprint sensation Gout Gout must surround himself with a strong support team to stay focused on his career and avoid the distractions that come with success.
The 18-year-old has drawn comparisons with the Jamaican great and is already talked about in Australia as a possible gold medallist at the Brisbane 2032 Olympics. He won the 200 metres at the Australian Athletics Championships in 19.67 seconds and also took the under-20 100m in 10.21.
Bolt, who holds world records of 19.19 in the 200m and 9.58 in the 100m and won eight Olympic gold medals, told CNN that young athletes get pulled in many directions. “At that young age, because I was there, you start getting put left and right, and then you forget track and field,” he said. “Hopefully, he has the right set of people to guide him and keep him focused on track and field because the rest of the stuff will always be there. But if you mess up on track and field, then it all goes away.”
Gout, the son of South Sudanese immigrants, is set to make his Diamond League debut over 200m in Oslo on June 10, where he will face a strong field led by reigning Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo of Botswana.
Although his rise has been rapid, global attention only grew in December 2024 when he ran 20.04 at the Australian All Schools Athletics Championships, breaking Peter Norman’s long-standing national record of 20.06 from the 1968 Olympics and setting the fastest time ever by a 16-year-old. He later improved to 20.02 but had not legally broken the 20-second barrier.