Gout Gout is making headlines with his meteoric rise to prominence which has led to comparisons with sprinting great Usain Bolt but the teen sensation has a long way to go.
The family of Australian sprint legend Peter Norman have praised Gout Gout’s incredible record-breaking run in the 200m on Saturday December 7.
Gout broke Norman’s national record, which had stood for 56 years, with a blistering time of 20.04 seconds at the Australian All-Schools championship.
Gout Gout is tipped to rule sprints and has been likened to legendary Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt who remains the greatest ever sprinter in history.
It was Australia’s longest-standing national record and was remarkably broken by a 16-year-old with Sudanese heritage, which Norman’s nephew Matt Norman said was special given his iconic stand against racism at the 1968 Olympics.
“You have no idea how ironic and beautiful that is. For me, I think that stands out as something special about it – a cherry on top,” Matt Norman told The Sydney Morning Herald.
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A prominent American sprinter has expressed concerns over the premature comparisons of a young athlete to legendary Usain Bolt.
Norman died in 2006 but Matt said his uncle would have loved to have lived long enough to see the child of Sudanese refugees break his record. “Peter didn’t mind his record being broken. He was waiting for it, and he’d waited a long time before he died. Unfortunately, he is not around to have seen it, but I know he’d be really proud.”
Gout’s time would have placed him sixth at the 2024 Paris Olympics and made him the fastest 16-year-old in history, surpassing Usain Bolt’s 200m record (20.13) in 2004. Bolt ran 19.93 the following year as a 17-year-old.
“Peter would be absolutely thrilled that a young kid like Gout has broken his record. We are all absolutely stunned that it finally happened after 56 years. We have been hoping for it,” Matt added.
