16-year-old sprinter's manager speaks out on 'next Usain Bolt' tag after icon's record beaten

Australian sensation Gout Gout has already been compared to 100m world record holder Usain Bolt, but the teenager's manager is trying to keep expectations of the youngster in check

The manager of teenage sensation Gout Gout has insisted it's too soon to draw comparisons to Usain Bolt in the wake of the youngster's stunning emergence.

The 16-year-old Australian was already an internet sensation after registering a time of 10.57s in the 100m at the age of just 14. And comparisons with Bolt, the 100m world record holder, have grown after Gout set a new personal best of 10.29s back in March.

He has already surpassed Bolt's 2002 record in the 200m after clocking up a time of 20.60s to win silver at the U20 World Championships in Peru back in September.

Gout's manager, James Templeton, has done his best to keep the scrutiny off the impressive youngster and is keen to temper expectations given his age.

Speaking on the ABC Sport Daily podcast, he said: "I’ve avoided using the “UB” comparison. I think that’s unfair to a young athlete.

"For 18 months I’ve basically said a blanket 'no' to every media outlet in Australia that has asked. We just want to allow him to be a normal kid at school. We don’t want him to have any distraction. It’s all going to be ahead of him. We want his life to be as normal as possible for as long as possible.

"But the modern world with viral videos, despite saying no to media he has gone viral and everybody is starting to get to know him."

While Templeton is keen to avoid piling any unnecessary pressure on Gout, he makes no secret of the fact that he thinks the teenager is destined for greatness. He believes Gout has that something that is "a little bit special".

He added: "Having seen a lot of great young athletes and sprinters over the years, I’m firmly convinced he has that something a little bit special to kick through to the very highest levels.

"2026 will be a great year, and the big event for him is the World Juniors. He broke through to an extent this year and the 2026 version in Eugene, Oregon, and that’ll be a wonderful event."

Templeton has already identified the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane as a unique opportunity for Gout, who could potentially be set up to thrive in a a home games.

"He’s doing the blue-riband events, as well, which everyone wants to see, so that’s going to take a lot of, I think, courage from him to be able to step up and have that belief in him, which he obviously already does, but to hold onto that all through a couple of Olympic cycles that we’re going into [leading up to] Brisbane.

"I think it’s very special for Australian sport and the Australian community to be able to see someone who could be quite dominant in Brisbane in the blue-riband events in the athletics. It’s going to just be electric."

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