Australian Olympic legend Cathy Freeman has given her seal of approval to teenage sprint sensation Gout Gout.
The 17-year-old has taken the athletics world by storm since making the headlines in 2024 for his Olympic-standard times in school competitions
After breaking Usain Bolt’s 200m event record at the Under-20 World Championships last September, Gout then became the fastest Australian in the race’s history in December.
His 20:04 second effort saw him overtake Peter Norman’s previous 20:06 best, set in 1968.
The starlet has since cemented his growing reputation by clocking the leading 200m time of the year so far, clocking 20:05 in the heats of the Queensland Athletics State Championships.
Gout’s heroics have drawn comparisons to Bolt, with the fastest man alive himself saying of the youngster: “He looks like young me.”
And it isn’t just the eight-time Olympic gold medallist who the Queensland teenager could emulate.
With a home Games to look forward to in the shape of Brisbane 2032, this has fed excitement in Australia of a similar career trajectory to national hero Cathy Freeman.
Freeman won 400m gold at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, having also shot to stardom as a teenager by winning Commonwealth Games gold aged 16.
And the Aussie athletics legend did not hold back when discussing Gout’s enormous potential.
In a recent documentary about Gout on Australia’s Seven News, Freeman said of the rising star: “He’s just something else.
“Watching him race, it’s like he’s running downhill in the last 100m. It’s like he’s been shot out of a cannon or something! Come on!
AFPGout Gout has been ripping up the record books in Australia with his lightning speed[/caption]
“I think he’s an absolute joy, he’s an absolute delight.”
When asked if she saw similarities between herself and Gout at the same age, Freeman was quick to heap praise on him.
She quipped: “I think he’s probably smarter than I was at that age. He’s definitely quicker!”
With the track starlet admitting the comparisons to Bolt had at times been ‘overwhelming‘, Freeman backed him to forge a legacy of his own.
She added: “He said recently that he wants to be Gout Gout and not like Usain, so I can completely get his point of view on that.
“But certainly he would be prepared for the comparisons wouldn’t he, Gout Gout?
“I think he’s his own story, I think he’s his own future his, own present and it’s going to be a unique tale.”
And while Gout is on course to compete for a medal at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, Freeman shared her own hopes to witness him go for gold on home soil in Brisbane.
The 52-year-old said: “I hope to be there watching him in seven years time, he’ll be 24 is that right? So 24, it’s crazy
“Where I’m sitting, I just wish him all the best.”
Last week, Gout left fans stunned once again after running a wind-assisted 19.98 in the 200m final in Brisbane.
Unfortunately his time did not officially count as his +3.6 tailwind was over the +2.0 threshold, but his 20.05 effort in the heats was recognised, allowing him to record the world-leading time for the season.
But he faces a new test this weekend, with Gout making his debut against senior sprint stars at the Maurie Plant Meet in Melbourne
