Gout Gout on comparisons with Usain Bolt: At times it does get a bit overwhelming

Australian sensation Gout Gout says a school competition win was the trigger for him believing he could be a sprint star.

Speaking to 7NEWS, the 17-year-old Queenslander said, “I was running in the interhouse and I was against the state champion for his age group.

“He was a year younger than me at the time. And I basically beat him and coach (Di Sheppard) came up to me and she was like, ‘I believe you can be someone, you can be one of the fastest in Australia, fastest in the world.’ And that really touched me.

“From then I’ve been training with coach, and we’ve just been building on for that.”

The teenage star, whose name is actually Guot (pronounced “gwot”) but became Gout due to an Arabic translation error, ran 20.04 in December to break Olympic silver medallist Peter Norman’s long-standing Australian 200m record.

On comparisons with the great Usain Bolt, Gout said, “In the moment it feels great because everyone wants to be compared to Usain Bolt, the fastest athlete alive.

“At times it does get a bit overwhelming but, now that I’ve grown up, I’m a bit mature and my circle really helps me stay level and I’m just trying to make a name for myself. My dream is I want to be one of the best athletes track and field and Australia has ever seen.

“I want to go to the ’28 Olympics in LA. I want to go to the Brisbane Olympics. And I just want to show the world that I’m Gout and how I’m here to stay and the Olympics is the best place to do that.”

Sheppard has no doubt Gout, born in Queensland to South Sudanese parents, can go the very top. “I suppose when we talk about it, it’s not might, it’s like when… we don’t do might, it’s when.”

Australian commentator Bruce McAvaney believes he is unique among Australian sprinters. “He’s doing what we thought might be impossible,” he said. “We’re all very, very excited about what the future might bring.”

A week ago, Gout ran a wind-assisted 19.98 for the 200m in Brisbane. He could make his long-awaited debut against senior runners in the Maurie Plant Meeting in Melbourne next Saturday (29 March).