Gout Gout has taken the entire track and field realm by storm. The 16-year-old Australian has created some major records in the 200m. Clocking 20.04s, Gout broke Usain Bolt’s record of 20.13s from 2013. Thus, quite expectedly, critics cannot help but compare the upcoming phenom with the Jamaican track and field legend. And well, Gout Gout did not just break Usain Bolt’s record. He also shattered a 56-year-old Australian record. 

Till now, the fastest Australian in 200m was Peter Norman. Dating way back to the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, Norman clocked 20.06s. And since then, that record has remained untouched by Australian sprinters. That is until 2024 when the 16-year-old decided to raise the bar further. After his whirlwind run, comparisons with Bolt started to emerge everywhere. Critics even stated that the Australian has the potential to topple Bolt’s world record timing of 19.19s very soon. 

And that’s not all. Things have been looking so much better for Gout Gout; legendary coaches have claimed that he is even better than Bolt! In a statement dated December 18, Pau Fradera delved into the topic of Gout Gout creating ripples. Making a surprising claim, Fradera opined that the Australian has better technique than the Jamaican legend. “Technically he is already better than Bolt. As a teenager Bolt lacked a lot of stabilization, he was from one side to the other, he ran very uncontrollably. Gout is much better at that. Although the most amazing thing he has is his stride,” said Fradera. 

Now, Fradera is not someone who will be commenting on anything and everything. His resume says that he is the coach of Spanish sprinting sensation Guillem Crespi. It was Fradera’s coaching that led Crespi to the finals of the European Championships. Thus, when he passes such a statement, it becomes immensely significant. 

However, Fradera was not all praise. He also had some words of advice for the young sprinter. Fradera said that Gout Gout still had a long way to go. He said, “At that age there are very developed runners who already make great times, but he still has a long way to go. As happened to Bolt at 16 or 17 years old, Gout still has to do, he needed a lot of strength work.” Meanwhile, Gout Gout’s manager has an interesting take on the constant comparison with Usain Bolt. 

Gout’s manager gives a reality check on Usain Bolt comparison

Despite the world going gaga over Gout Gout, his manager, James Templeton, wants the sprinter to shine in his light. He also stated that all these comparisons with Bolt might result in the young mind getting impacted. This might, in turn, lead to some serious performance issues. Speaking with ABC News, Templeton stated, “I’ve avoided using the ‘UB’ (Usain Bolt) comparison. I think that’s unfair to a young athlete.” 

He further added, “For 18 months I’ve basically said a blanket ‘no’ to every media outlet in Australia that has asked. We just want to allow him (Gout Gout) to be a normal kid at school. We don’t want him to have any distraction.” Surely, this is perhaps the best approach to opt for Gout Gout at the moment. Although he has established his talent, the Australian phenom still needs to do a lot of hard work in order to rise to the track and field summit. Thus, with comparisons going wild, it remains to be seen how things pan out for Gout Gout in the future.