Gout Gout celebrates his victory in the 100 meters at the 2026 Australian Junior Championships.
PATRICK HAMILTON / AFP
Usain Bolt has stated that Australian sprinting prodigy Gout Gout must build a strong support system around him to remain focused on his career and sidestep the distractions that come with athletic success.
Gout, often compared to the Jamaican legend, is just 18 years old and already being touted in Australia as a potential gold medalist when Brisbane hosts the 2032 Olympics.
He stopped the clock at 19.67 seconds to win the 200m title at the Australian Athletics Championships this month, and followed it up with a victory in the under-20 100m, where he clocked 10.21 seconds.
Bolt holds the world records in the 200m (19.19) and the 100m (9.58).
“At that age, because I was also there, you start going from one place to another and end up forgetting about athletics,” said Bolt, an eight-time Olympic champion, to CNN. “I hope he has the right people by his side to guide him and keep him focused on athletics, because everything else will always be there. But if you fail in athletics, everything else disappears.”
Gout, the son of South Sudanese immigrants, is set to make his Diamond League debut in the 200m in Oslo on June 10, in a high-caliber event headlined by defending Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo of Botswana.