All eyes were on the City of Lights during the recently concluded Paris Olympics. More specifically, many were hoping to catch a glimpse of the teenage prodigy Quincy Wilson. At just 16 years old, he turned heads by dominating in his signature event – the 400m sprint. However, he has etched his name as the youngest American track and field athlete by clinching a gold at the French capital. But while everyone was overjoyed for the new Olympian, another talented teenage athlete made his way around the block. 

Meet Gout Gout. The Australian sprinter has a knack for speed. So much so that many perceive him as the ‘next big thing’ or the ‘Usain Bolt’. While he might not have contested in the Olympics, he made waves with his recent performance at the Queensland Athletics Championships. A video of him speeding to the finish line has gone viral, and fans have gone feral over how impressive it is. Participating in the 100m sprint, the wunderkind won in 10.02 seconds – at just 16! 

But this isn’t the only time his jaw-dropping performances have grabbed eyeballs. In 2023, the then 15-year-old contested at the Australian Junior Athletics Championship in Brisbane. Competing in the 200m sprint, the Aussie shattered the national under-18 record of 20.90 seconds, previously held by 3 Zane Bronco, Paul Greene, and Darren Clark. What time did the wunderkind clock in? 20.87 seconds. But how did he get started on this journey?

The sprinter received his first pair of spikes at the Ipswich Grammar School. At the tender age of 14, Gout turned heads with his impeccable speed of 10.57 seconds in the 100m dash. But while he had the raw speed, he was lacking in technique. This is where his coach Diane Sheppard came in. “Gout came to Ipswich Grammar as a full fee-paying student and they were pushing a rugby kid at me, but I saw him run around and he got right up on his toes,” the coach said. 

Their sessions consisted of speed and speed endurance throughout the week with 3 days of recovery for Gout and Co. “People are quick to comment saying look how bad his start is, but the kid hasn’t even got full control of his limb length yet.“ They decided to focus on pushing him to reach his top speed and improve his start. Within 2 months, the wunderkind was already shattering national records, and now holds the under-16 100m and 200m records. 

Gout Gout vs Quincy Wilson – the battle of the prodigies

Wilson, The Bullis School sprinting prodigy consistently clocked in sub-45-second timings throughout his 400m contention. However, he couldn’t push past his competitors in the finals and finished sixth. This didn’t stop him from competing in the 4x400m heats at the French capital, and now he has an Olympic gold to show for that. Wilson has accomplished all of this while just being 16 years old. 

The same goes for Gout. Apart from being the Under-16 100 and 200m record holder, Gout also shattered the U-18 200m record in April last year. With an impressive time of 20.87 seconds, the sprinter effortlessly won the Australian Junior Athletics Championships. But here’s where things get interesting. The wunderkind was within arm’s reach of Usain Bolt’s record – who was also 15 when he set it. The legendary sprinter’s quickest 200m time was 20.58 seconds. He clocked the monumental time at the 2002 World Championships in Kingston.

This season has been just as fruitful for the wunderkind. In March, he contested at the Queensland Athletics Championships. With a personal best of 10.29 seconds, he won the U-18 100m dash. He also won the U20 100m title a month later in Adelaide with 10.48 seconds on the clock. Even though 400m is Wilson’s signature event, watching the two lock horns at some point will be quite interesting. Whose side are you on – Team Gout Gout or Quincy Wilson?