Usain Bolt, the legendary sprinter, is urging Australian sensation Gout Gout to build a robust support team. Bolt, an eight-time Olympic gold medalist, understands the immense pressure and distractions that come with early success in track and field.
At just 18, Gout is already drawing comparisons to Bolt and is being eyed as a potential Olympic medalist for Brisbane 2032. He recently won the 200m title at the Australian Athletics Championships with a time of 19.67 seconds, followed by a 10.21-second victory in the under-20 100m.
"At that young age, you start getting put left and right and then you forget track and field," Bolt told CNN. "Hopefully he has the right set of people to guide him and keep him focused on track and field because the rest of the stuff will always be there. But if you mess up on track and field, then it all goes away."
Gout, whose parents are South Sudanese immigrants, is scheduled to make his Diamond League debut in Oslo on June 10, competing in the 200m against a field including Botswana's Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo.