Eighteen-year-old sprint star Gout Gout is already being tipped as a potential gold medallist for the Brisbane 2032 Olympics, but Jamaica’s world-record holder Usain Bolt has urged the Australian youngster to stay focused on track and field amid the distractions that come with early fame. Bolt, an eight-time Olympic gold medallist and the 100m and 200m world-record holder (9.58 and 19.19 seconds), spoke about Gout on CNN.
“At that young age, because I was there, you start getting put left and right and then you forget track and field,” Bolt said. “Hopefully he has the right set of people to guide him and keep him focused on track and field because the rest of the stuff will always be there. But if you mess up on track and field, then it all goes away.”
Gout won the 200 metres at the Australian Athletics Championships earlier this month in 19.67, and took victory in the Under-20 100m in 10.21. He is set to make his Diamond League debut in the 200m in Oslo on June 10, lining up alongside reigning Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo of Botswana. Gout has indicated he will skip the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow this summer to focus on the World Under-20 Championships in Oregon in August.