Aussie teen compared to Usain Bolt takes huge step toward super

Clocked close to same 200m time as Bolt at same age

Announced himself on the world stage this year

Will be just 24 when the Brisbane Olympics are held

A rising Queensland talent drawing direct comparisons to Usain Bolt has become one of the youngest athletes in Australia to go professional and sign a sponsorship deal with a major brand.

Ipswich teenager Gout Gout has signed a deal with athletic shoe and clothing brand Adidas after announcing himself on the world stage this year aged just 16.

Gout has been compared to Usain Bolt, particularly in the 200m, where he recorded a personal best of 20.16 seconds, almost matching Bolt’s 20.13-second best in the event at the same age.

It already has him on pace to shatter Australia’s open 200m record, the 20.06 seconds recorded by Peter Norman at the 1968 Olympics.

At the 2022 World Athletics Under 20 Championships in Peru, Gout secured a silver medal in the 200m, and his best time for the 100m is 10.29 seconds, just shy of the 10 seconds flat required to qualify for the Olympics.

Gout has set multiple national records, including the Under 16 100m record of 10.57 seconds and the Under 18 200m record of 20.87 seconds.

He was also honoured for turning in the Breakout Performance of the Year at this year’s Queensland Athletics Awards.

Gout Gout (pictured at this year’s World Athletics Under-20 Championships) has signed a deal with Adidas to become one of the youngest Aussie athletes to go professional

The Ipswich teenager has already recorded a 200m time almost as fast as the one Usain Bolt (pictured) notched at the same age

And in a scary warning to the rest of the world, Gout will only be 24 years old when the Olympics are held in Australia in 2032.

‘Maybe we are seeing the next Usain Bolt’ when asked about Gout,’ Australian athletics great Sally Pearson said.

‘How lucky are we to have that in Australian sport.

‘Let’s just see if he can keep continuing that rise over the next few years.’

Australian Olympian Sally Pearson (pictured centre at the 2012 London Games) and a host of others are already comparing Gout to Bolt

Gout is one of seven children and was born in Ipswich, Australia, in 2007, after his parents Monica and Bona migrated from South Sudan two years earlier.

He currently attends Ipswich Grammar School, where he is under the guidance of coach Diane Sheppard.

His management is handled by James Templeton, who is known for representing other notable Australian athletes such as Peter Bol, Cameron Myers, and Sarah Carli.

And he said being compared to the all-conquering Bolt was ‘a great feeling’.

‘I’m trying to make a name for myself. If I can get to the level he was, that would be a great achievement,’ he said.

It was a steep learning curve for Gout, who signed up for athletics as a footy convert unable to medal at the Under 16 Australian Championships to carving almost four-tenths of a second off his personal best in the space of two months.

But he was up for the challenge.

If Gout continues on the same trajectory he is set to shatter Australian records in both the 200m and 100m sprints

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‘Six or eight months ago, he looked like one of those things that blow around in car yards. His arms were out of control,’ Sheppard said previously.

‘They were pushing a rugby kid at me, but I saw him run around and he got right up on his toes. He is a great kid from a great family.

‘My biggest thing with the kids is about being humble, and he has got it in bucket loads.’

And while Gout may only be announcing himself to the wider Australian public now, those in the athletics community have been singing his praises for years.

‘Seriously actually moves like Bolt. Same action. Has a while to go yet but plenty of promise,’ one follower posted.

‘This guy is my fav young sprinter, sure he will a champion one day,’ another said.

‘Go Gout and keep that sunny personality.’ poster another.