Olympic great Usain Bolthas given sprint star Gout Gout some crucial guidance, while informing the young Australian he must get ready for an upcoming challenge.
The 18-year-old’s performance was faster than Bolt’s time at the same age prior to his becoming the most accomplished sprinter in history.
The quickest time Bolt achieved as a competitor under 20 was 19.93 in 2004.
Although referring to Gout as a “huge young talent,” Bolt mentioned that it was his actions outside the track that required his focus.
Speaking to CNN Sport, Bolt stated that Gout needed to be surrounded by the right people.
“At such a young age, since I was present, you begin to be pulled in different directions and then you lose focus on track and field,” he said.
I hope he has the right team to support him and keep him concentrated on track and field, as the other aspects will always be present.
Following Gout’s breaking of his own Australian 200m record at the national athletics championships, he wascompelled to face ‘critics’ who doubted his commitment.
Notable figures such as former Olympic gold medalist Justin Gatlin and American college sprinter Erin Brown questioned Gout’s impressive accomplishment, with the latter mistakenly claiming the Brisbane teenager received significant assistance from an illegal tailwind.
The 200m race was considered valid, as there was a tailwind of 1.7m/s at Sydney Olympic Park.
Brown stated that Gout will become a ‘laughing stock’ and has been ‘set up to fail’ when he participates in Diamond League events abroad later this year.
“I believed we saw something truly unique… a million people messaged me, dude, Gout Gout actually ran 19.6,” Brown said to his social media fans.
That made me want to look up the results. Let’s be honest, and if you claim this is hate, then you’re dealing with it, because you want to stand out.
This nonsense is clearly fake. Obviously, blatantly, this is as fake as it gets.
Gout faced inquiries from reporters regarding certain ‘salty’ remarks coming from America – and he dismissed the criticism with laughter.
“Throughout life, there will always be people who dislike you; if you have critics, it shows you’re on the right path,” he stated.
That’s just the way it is; I don’t let it affect me, I just keep moving forward… obviously, my 200m time was quite quick, which might be why the critics were a little upset.
It encourages me to participate in larger competitions, without a doubt.
Bolt, who has the 200m world record of 19.19, established in 2009, also cautioned Gout against joining open-age athletics, which is not too far off.
Controlling his own age category is one matter, but facing every opponent is a different challenge, Bolt mentioned.
“I recall leaving high school and hitting the circuit, feeling as if I was at the peak of the world since I was winning and performing well,” he said.
When I joined the circuit, I didn’t win a single race. I realize it’s going to be a revealing experience, and I hope it doesn’t discourage him but instead encourage him to put in even more effort.
I believe that in the first year you will gain a lot of knowledge and realize what you need to do to improve. He is a significant young talent.
It will be his last appearance in the under-20s world competition before he moves on to open age events.
He will experience open-age competition when he participates in his senior Diamond League debut in June in Oslo, Norway.
He is set to compete against Letsile Tebogo, the 2024 Paris Olympics 200m champion, in Oslo. Tebogo’s personal best in the 200m is 19.46 seconds, which is two tenths of a second quicker than Gout’s latest performance.
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