Sprint legend Bolt advised Gout to stay focused and avoid the distractions that come with track and field success.
Published on 21 April 2026
Usain Bolt says Australian sprint sensation Gout must surround himself with a strong support team to stay focused on his career and avoid the distractions that come with track and field success.
Gout has drawn comparisons to the Jamaican sprinter and the 18-year-old is already being talked about as a potential gold medalist in Australia when Brisbane hosts the Olympics in 2032.
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He clocked 19.67 seconds to win the 200m title at the Australian Athletics Championships this month and followed that up with victory in the under-20 100m event, where he clocked 10.21 seconds.
Bolt holds the world records in 200 meters (19.19) and 100 meters (9.58).
“At that young age, because I was there, you start going left and right and then you forget track and field,” Bolt, an eight-time Olympic gold medalist, told CNN.
“Hopefully, he will have the right people to guide him and keep him focused on track and field because the rest will always be there.
“But if you mess up on track and field, everything goes away.”
Gout, the son of South Sudanese immigrants, is set to make his Diamond League debut in the 200m in Oslo on June 10, joining a strong field led by reigning Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo of Botswana.
Despite Gout growing rapidly on track, the rest of the world did not take notice of his prodigious talent until December 2024.
The 18-year-old came into limelight when he clocked 20.04 seconds at the Australian All Schools Athletics Championships.
This broke Peter Norman’s national record of 20.06 set at the 1968 Olympics and was the fastest ever recorded by a 16-year-old.
He improved to 20.02 but had never legally gone below 20 seconds before.
