Uber-talented Australian teenage sprinter Gout Gout reminds Usain Bolt of someone he knows pretty well.
Himself.
Which is why the Jamaican 100m world record-holder believes the way Gout spends these next few years will be critical to his development.
In one of the most highly anticipated debuts in recent history, the 17-year-old will compete in the men’s 200m at the 2025 World Athletics Championships, taking place 13-21 September at Tokyo’s National Stadium.
“Definitely, I think the talent that he’s showing when I was young is the same thing,” Bolt said on Thursday (11 September) evening in the Japanese capital.
“And this is why I’m trying to advise him to be very careful in transition because I had a tough time transitioning into the senior level.
“So finding the right people, finding the right coach that could transition into the senior level (is key).
“He has a great future. If he gets everything right, his future is going to be bright.”
Bolt spoke as the chief ambassador at a red-carpet event for World Athletics’ Ultimate Championship launching exactly a year from now in 2026.
The Ultimate Championship will pit the world’s top-ranked athletes against each other in a head-to-head format to close out the season. The purse is USD 10 million.
Bolt is high on the Ultimate Championship, believing it could be a game-changer for athletics.
“I feel like it’s wonderful,” the 39-year-old legend said. “I think every other sports has been developing and changing over the years.
“So to see track and field moving in that direction and trying to do different, I’m trying to do something different for the sport, and to really bring all the best of the best together – and just to show the world the best that we have.”
Bolt said the beauty of the new event is that athletes who miss out on an Olympic Games or a world championships have an opportunity to strut their stuff against the cream of the crop on the biggest stage.
“If you know me I always look for anybody who’s the best. I always wanted to run against the best guys and it’s always those at the line and this is why I’m so excited about this format.
“Because sometimes you have a few people that didn’t make it from the trials because it’s just the top three and those are the guys that could have been there also.
“So for me now it’s just the best in the world that will (be there). If it’s 10 guys from Jamaica, it would be 10 guys there.
“That’s what the sports bringing that will showcase the best of the best.”