Meet Gout Gout, the Aussie sprinter faster than Usain Bolt at 18

Next year, it will be a decade since Usain Bolt stopped sprinting. Yet his jaw-dropping timings of 9.58 seconds in 100 metres and 19.19 seconds in 200 metres, both set in 2009, have remained untouched. But for how long? It is too early to predict anything, but there is a young Australian sprinter, Gout Gout, coming through, and he is rapid.

Gout clocked 19.67 seconds to win the 200-metre title at the Australian Athletics Championships in Sydney on Sunday. In doing so, he became faster than Bolt was at 18. The great Jamaican had set a junior world record of 19.93 seconds in 2004.

Incredibly, two young men broke the 20-second barrier in the Australian meet as Gout was pushed to perform at his best by Aidan Murphy, who finished second on 19.88 seconds at the Olympic Park. “Right before the finals I wrote in my notes, ‘I’m running 19.75’, and it is 19.67,” Gout said after the race.

Gout, the son of South Sudanese immigrants, should be aiming for gold in the Under-20 World Championships to be held in Eugene, Oregon in August.

Bolt's legacy is unmatched. He won eight Olympic gold medals and 11 in World Championships, besides setting the 'impossible' world records in 100m and 200m events. And Gout is not yet up there in the league of the elites like Noah Lyles of Letsile Tebogo, both of whom have run under 19.50, with the former clocking an impressive 19.31 a few years ago.

Gout, who calls the 200 m his 'baby', is aware of the comparisons to Bolt, but he seems smart enough to focus on his development rather than get carried away by the expectations. “Honestly, it is great when people compare you to the best in the world. At the end of the day, I’m me. I’m doing my own thing. There’s no pressure for me. I go out there. The tracks. My spikes. And I go by myself,” Gout said.