Bolt, a sprinting legend, advised Gout to stay focused and avoid the distractions that come with success in track and field.
Published April 21, 2026
Usain Bolt said Australian sprinting sensation Gout must be surrounded by a strong support team to stay focused on his career and avoid the distractions that come with success in athletics.
Gout has been compared to the Jamaican sprinting great, and the 18-year-old is already being talked about in Australia as a potential gold medalist when Brisbane hosts the Olympics in 2032.
Recommended stories
list of 3 itemsend of list
He won the 200m at this month’s Australian Athletics Championships in 19.67 seconds, followed by winning the under-20 100m in 10.21 seconds.
Bolt holds the world records for the 200 meters (19.19 seconds) and 100 meters (9.58 seconds).
“At that young age, you start being left and right because of me, and eventually you forget about track and field,” Bolt, an eight-time Olympic gold medalist, told CNN.
“Hopefully he has the right people in place to coach him and keep him focused on athletics, because the rest will always be there.
“But if I fail in track and field, everything is ruined.”
Gaut, the son of South Sudanese immigrants, is scheduled to make his Diamond League debut in the 200 meters in Oslo on June 10, where he will line up in a strong field led by reigning Olympic champion Lesil Tebogo of Botswana.
Despite Gout’s rapid rise to prominence on the track, it wasn’t until December 2024 that the world took notice of his incredible talent.
The 18-year-old shot to fame when he clocked 20.04 seconds at the Australian All Schools Athletics Championships.
This broke Peter Norman’s national record of 20.06 seconds set at the 1968 Olympics and was the fastest ever for a 16-year-old.
He had improved his time to 20.02 seconds, but had never legally gone below 20 seconds.
