Gout Gout’s manager speaks out on Usain Bolt comparison after record 200m time

Gout Gout’s manager has tried to debar the ‘next Usain Bolt’ tag for his client, but admits it is hard to quell expectations for the ‘special’ sprinter.

The 16-year-old Australian has been making a sanction for himself connected the athletics country since clocking a clip of 10.57s successful the 100m astatine conscionable 14 years old.

In March this twelvemonth helium took his idiosyncratic champion implicit 100m down to 10.29s astatine the Queensland Athletics Championships successful Brisbane and has since acceptable a caller PB implicit 200m.

Racing astatine the Queensland All Schools Track and Field Championships this period helium ran the 200m successful conscionable 20.29s, mounting an Australian Under-20 and U-18 record.

The unthinkable imaginable became the fourth-fastest Under-18 implicit 200m successful history, lone down Erriyon Knighton, Bolt and Puripol Boonson.

Huge things are expected of the teenage sensation, with Adidas already recognising his talents and signing him up.

His manager, James Templeton, says helium has done his champion to support him retired of the limelight but it is becoming progressively difficult.

‘I’ve avoided utilizing the “UB” comparison. I deliberation that’s unfair to a young athlete,’ Templeton said connected the ABC Sport Daily podcast.

‘For 18 months I’ve fundamentally said a broad “no” to each media outlet successful Australia that has asked. We conscionable privation to let him to beryllium a mean kid astatine school. We don’t privation him to person immoderate distraction.

‘It’s each going to beryllium up of him. We privation his beingness to beryllium arsenic mean arsenic imaginable for arsenic agelong arsenic possible.

‘But the modern satellite with viral videos, contempt saying nary to media helium has gone viral and everybody is starting to get to cognize him.’

Templeton, though, would not contradict that helium thinks Gout volition beryllium competing for the biggest honours successful the athletics successful the future.

‘Having seen a batch of large young athletes and sprinters implicit the years, I’m firmly convinced helium has that thing a small spot peculiar to footwear done to the precise highest levels,’ helium said.

There volition beryllium nary unreserved with the Australian, who was calved successful Queensland to parents from South Sudan, arsenic his manager says the adjacent large people is the World Athletics U20 Championships successful 2026 successful Eugene,

‘2026 volition beryllium a large year, and the large lawsuit for him is the World Juniors,’ Templeton said. ‘He broke done to an grade this twelvemonth and the 2026 mentation successful Eugene, Oregon, and that’ll beryllium a fantastic event.

‘Unfortunately it clashes with the Commonwealth Games. The Commonwealth hasn’t rather looked astatine the calendar successful the mode that we look astatine the calendar, truthful we’re going to person to marque a prime betwixt the two.

‘At this stage, it looks similar the World Juniors are going to beryllium our priority, which is bitterly disappointing.’

Gout ran astatine the World U20 Championships this twelvemonth successful Lima, winning a metallic medal successful the 200m.

He broke the Jamaica legend’s 200m grounds for U16 level astatine this year’s U20 World Championships and Australian Olympic leader Sally Pearson precocious suggested that ‘maybe we are seeing the adjacent Usain Bolt’.

‘What you spot of him connected those videos is beauteous awesome and, god, he’s going to beryllium astatine the ripe property for the Brisbane Olympics coming astir successful a location country,’ Pearson said.

‘God, he’s conscionable going to acceptable the satellite connected fire, I think.

‘He’s doing the blue-riband events, arsenic well, which everyone wants to see, truthful that’s going to instrumentality a batch of, I think, courageousness from him to beryllium capable to measurement up and person that content successful him, which helium evidently already does, but to clasp onto that each done a mates of Olympic cycles that we’re going into [leading up to] Brisbane.

‘I deliberation it’s precise peculiar for Australian athletics and the Australian assemblage to beryllium capable to spot idiosyncratic who could beryllium rather ascendant successful Brisbane successful the blue-riband events successful the athletics. It’s going to conscionable beryllium electric.’

Responding to the comparisons to Bolt, Gout said: ‘It’s beauteous cool.

‘Usain Bolt is arguably the top jock of each clip and conscionable being compared to him is simply a large feeling.

‘Obviously, I’m Gout Gout truthful I’m trying to marque a sanction for myself. If I tin get to the level helium was, that would beryllium a large achievement.’