At simply 16, Australia’s dash sensation, Gout Gout, has signed knowledgeable contract with Adidas.
The excessive schooler made headlines after he cruised to a 20.77-second win within the qualifying rounds of the 200m on the World U20 Championships in Lima, Peru, this previous August. The clip went viral within the athletics world, and observe and discipline followers drew comparisons from his tall stature and operating fashion to these of Jamaican observe legend Usain Bolt.
Gout Gout girls and gents 😤
That’s it, simply watch 👀#WorldAthleticsU20 pic.twitter.com/UEOMm4yHvN
— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) August 29, 2024
“Usain Bolt is that you just?” one remark mentioned.
“Gout Gout jogs my memory of Usain Bolt. He will certainly stage up with him,” mentioned one other.
The next day, Gout ran one other private better of 20.60 seconds within the 200m remaining, setting an Australian U18 document and successful silver. He was outrun by South Africa’s Bayanda Walaza, who took house double gold within the World U20 100m and 200m and gained silver within the 4x100m relay on the Paris Olympics earlier that month. Walaza is 2 years older than Gout, who was competing in opposition to athletes three to 4 years older.
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The Aussie’s efficiency surpassed Bolt’s personal successful time from the 2002 Junior World Championships in Kingston, Jamaica, the place the 16-year-old Jamaican clocked 20.61. “It’s fairly cool as a result of Usain Bolt is arguably the best athlete of all time, and simply being in comparison with him is a good feeling,” Gout mentioned.
Like Bolt, the 200m isn’t Gout’s solely occasion. He additionally holds a private better of 10.29 within the 100m and has held the Australian U18 200m document since final 12 months, at simply 15.
In 2005, Gout’s dad and mom moved from South Sudan to Brisbane, Australia the place Gout was born in 2007. The athlete attends Ipswich Grammar Faculty, an all-boys boarding faculty, in Queensland, Australia, the place he first confirmed off his athleticism in rugby. He’ll solely be 24 when the Olympics come to his hometown of Brisbane in 2032.