Who is Gout Gout? Meet the sprinting sensation compared to Bolt

BBC News

7 hours ago

Gout Gout is a teenage sprinter from Australia whose scintillating speed has drawn huge interest from fans and pundits around the world.Aged 17, Gout competes over 60m, 100m, 200m and 400m and has set a series of impressive records at youth level.Videos of Gout's dominant performances have gone viral online, and his height, long strides, and string of stellar victories have led to comparisons with legendary eight-time Olympic gold medallist Usain Bolt.Born in Queensland to parents from South Sudan, Gout is one of seven children. His father has said his name should be pronounced 'Gwot', and it was originally spelt 'Guot' before being incorrectly transliterated from Arabic during his early childhood.His sprinting ability was was first noted by school coach Di Sheppard, who has worked with Gout since he was 13.Gout is still at school, but is also about to embark on the first steps of his international career.
How fast is Gout Gout?
Gout holds the Australian under-16 records in both the 100m and 200m. He set the former by running 10.57s as a 14-year-old, and the latter with a time of 20.87s aged 15.In 2024, he won the Australian under-20 100m title with a time of 10.48, before securing a 200m silver medal in the World Under-20 Championships in Lima.Later the same year, he won the 200m and 400m at the 2024 GPS Track & Field Championships in his native Queensland.After securing those titles, Gout turned professional and signed a sponsorship deal with Adidas.He subsequently broke the Australian under-18 record - setting the fifth fastest time of any athlete of any age in the country's history - and became only the second person to ever go faster than Bolt in the under-18 200m category.Gout's fastest (non-wind assisted) times in each event are:60m - 6.98s100m - 10.17s200m - 20.04s400m - 46.20s
What has been said by Gout Gout and Usain Bolt?
In late 2024, Bolt sent a direct message on Instagram - in response to a video of one of Gout's runs - saying "he looks like young me".Gout is pleased with the comparisons, but wants to make his own mark."I do see it," Gout told Nine last year. "My stride length is pretty long, my knee height is pretty high and just the amount of tallness I get when I'm running."I'm just me trying to be me. I do sometimes look like him, but obviously I'm making a name for myself, and I think I've done that pretty well."Being compared to Usain Bolt feels great but I would like to put my personality in the upcoming story."The family of Peter Norman - the Australian sprinter whose 56-year record Gout broke when he ran the 200m in 20.06s last December - called Gout "a star".Norman's daughters said their father "would have loved" seeing Gout beat his record.
What is next for Gout Gout?
Gout Gout is making his international senior debut at the Golden Spike meet in Ostrava on Tuesday.The annual event is a gold-level meeting on the World Athletics Continental Tour - the rung below the Diamond League."The main goal of the season is obviously World Championships," Gout said. "Let's see what I can do on the world stage against professional athletes. Hopefully I can run fast and perform well."Gout is set to compete at the Monaco Diamond League meet at the Stade Louis II on 11 July.Gout is using the two events in order to prepare for the World Athletics Championships, which will be held from 13-21 September in Tokyo, Japan.Gout will be 20 by the time of the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, USA.This article is the latest from BBC Sport's Ask Me Anything team.
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