Following an incredible weekend by rising Australian teen sensation Gout Gout, Usain shared his thoughts on comparisons with the talented youngster.
The greatest sprinter of all time Usain Bolt has reacted to Gout Gout's incredible weekend at the Australian All Schools Championships, where his unprecedented performances further strengthened his name as the 'Next Big Thing'.
Gout began his exceptional quest on Friday (December 6th) with an astonishing wind-aided 10.04s to win his 100m heat - the fourth-fastest all-conditions time in Australian history and the fastest in 31 years.
After this, he shattered Sebastian Sultana’s U18 national record of 10.27s to a legal 10.17s in the final, further cementing his name that he's well on the path as the next big name in Australian athletics.
Not resting on his oars, the 16-year-old returned for the 200m heat on Saturday, first effortlessly running 20.38s - a time good enough for some adult sprinters. A few hours later, he dropped an exceptional 20.04s, which broke Peter Norman's long-standing Australian national record of 20.06s clocked to win silver at the 1968 Olympics.
13:32 - 08.12.2024
'I didn't think it would come this year' - Gout Gout reacts to breaking Usain Bolt's 200m record and rewriting 56-year-old Australian history
Following an exceptional run to win the Australian All Schools Championships, viral teen star Gout Gout reacted to breaking Usain Bolt's age-16 world best.
More impressive is that Norman had held the 200m record for more than 50 years, since that high-altitude Mexico City final. In addition, Gout's time is the fastest ever by a teenager, smashing Usain Bolt's age 16 best of 20.13s and became the second-fastest by an athlete under the age of 18 - behind Erriyon Knighton's 19.84s as a 17-year-old in 2021.
He also hit the qualifying standard of 20.16s for the World Championships in Tokyo next year.
Following the talented speedster's incredible performances, Bolt reacted to the comparison and his thoughts on the young lad's record-breaking times.
“He looks like young me,” said the Jamaican sprint legend in response to @jumpers.world post via Instagram.
Despite Gout's humble insistence that he's his person and trying to make a name for himself, he also agrees it’s 'pretty cool' just to be put in the same sentence as the greatest sprinter in history.
However, with Bolt's latest recent thoughts, to which Gout replied with 'fire emoji', definitely the Australian new sprint sensation can now start thinking of ruling the world a few years from now.