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Australia’s 16-year-old sprinting sensation Gout Gout, born to South Sudanese parents, has inked a lucrative deal that is set to turn him professional after earning Usain Bolt comparisons.
Australian sprint sensation Gout Gout has made a major career move after going pro following the signing of a contract with Adidas.
The 16-year-old, termed as the next Usain Bolt for his knack for breaking world records, has been turning heads with his performances and Adidas have moved with speed to rope him into their stable before he becomes a global superstar.
Gout has earned comparisons with Usain Bolt not just for his height but also for breaking the legendary Jamaican sprinter’s 200m record for 16-year-olds at the World U20 Championships in Lima, Peru this year.
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18:58 - 28.10.2024
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A high school student from Queensland’s Ipswich, Gout took home a silver medal in a stacked field, flying home in 20.26 seconds, to beat Bolt’s time of 20.61 that the Jamaican recorded at the 2002 World Junior Championships.
He has also run the 100m in 10.29 seconds and helped Australia to fifth place in the 4x400m relay at the U20 Championships.
Australians feel Gout will deliver a medal for the country at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and will be a superstar at his home Olympics in Brisbane in 2032, although the teen sensation is not getting carried away by the hype.
“I’m super excited to have signed with Adidas. I’m not stopping here. I’ll work so hard to repay the faith they have shown me. I’ll stay hungry and chase down what’s next,” Gout told Citius Mag.
Born in Brisbane to South Sudanese migrants, Gout started breaking records at 14 when he clocked 10.57 in 100m at an athletics event in Brisbane in 2022, and rose to prominence at the Australian U18 Championships held in his home city last year.
He timed 20.87 to win the 200m aged 15 and this year, he ran an astonishing 10.29 at the Queensland Athletics Championships, the clip for the race going viral, as it attracted 13 million views before he backed up the hype with his good performances in Lima.
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20:00 - 06.09.2024
Justin Gatlin slams the idea of comparing upcoming sprinters to Usain Bolt
The 2004 Olympic champion has condemned the act of putting pressure on young sprinters like Gout Gout by comparing them to the likes of Usain Bolt.
That has made the comparisons with Bolt even louder but he is keen to carve out a career of his own.
“It’s pretty cool because Usain Bolt is arguably the greatest athlete of all time and just being compared to him is a great feeling,” Gout said.
“Obviously, I’m Gout Gout so I’m trying to make a name for myself. If I can get to the level he was, that would be a great achievement.”
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16:29 - 07.09.2024
'Let them be themselves' - American sprint legend discusses pressures on Gout Gout being compared with Usain Bolt
A prominent American sprinter has expressed concerns over the premature comparisons of a young athlete to legendary Usain Bolt.
Australian sprint legend Sally Pearson has backed Gout to deliver big time for the country in the near future.
“What you see of him on those videos is pretty impressive and, god, he’s going to be at the ripe age for the Brisbane Olympics coming around in a home country,” Pearson, the 2012 Olympics 100m hurdles champion, told Fox News.
“God, he’s just going to set the world on fire, I think. He’s doing the blue-riband events, as well, which everyone wants to see, so that’s going to take a lot of, I think, courage from him to be able to step up and have that belief in him, which he obviously already does, but to hold onto that all through a couple of Olympic cycles that we’re going into [leading up to] Brisbane.”
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14:00 - 03.09.2024
'A new era dawns!' Usain Bolt welcomes challengers as young stars smash his records
Usain Bolt has embraced emerging sprint talents breaking his records, heralding a new era of personalities in athletics.
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