MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Schoolboy sensation Gout Gout is bathing in new-found celebrity and savouring comparisons with Usain Bolt following his eye-catching runs at the Australian schools championships in Brisbane.
The 16-year-old ran the 200 metres in 20.04 seconds in Brisbane on Saturday to break the national record Peter Norman set at the 1968 Olympics.
The son of migrants from war-torn South Sudan, Gout also clocked a blistering 10.04 in the 100 metres heats on Friday in a wind of +3.4, the fourth fastest time in all conditions by an Australian.
Gout’s performances went viral on social media and earned a shout-out from 100m and 200m world-record holder Bolt, who posted on Instagram: “He looks like young me.”
Now the biggest name in Australian athletics while finishing year 11 at high school, Gout said the reaction since the weekend had been overwhelming.
“Obviously it has been mad and hasn’t really sunk in yet,” Gout told Australian media.
“Probably not for a couple of months I think but it has been a crazy response.
“There have been quite a few people reach out but Usain, that took the boat, for sure.”
Gout met with Adidas executives in Melbourne on Tuesday, having recently signed a contract with the apparel giant.
He will head to Florida next month to join Olympic 100m champion Noah Lyles at a training camp organised by Adidas, which sponsors both athletes.
With Australia set to host the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane, the country’s athletics chiefs are thrilled to have a potential track superstar in their midst but are also hoping to temper expectations and ensure Gout can live a normal childhood.
“He’s so young and you can imagine at the moment he’s going to have every sporting code, every agent, every commercial entity, they’ll all be chasing him and he hasn’t even finished year 11,” Athletics Australia president Jane Fleming told Sydney radio station 2GB.
“Part of our responsibility as an organisation is to make sure the young man gets to his thirties in good physical and mental shape.
“So we need to try and temper it, make sure he gets back to school, does year 12 next year, hangs out with his mates, has a good time with it all, while still progressing him on the way through.”
(Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Saad Sayeed)
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