17-year-old sprint sensation Gout Gout is the ‘next best thing,’ says Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo

(CNN) — Australian sprinter Gout Gout may only be 17, but Olympic 200-meter champion Letsile Tebogo says the teenage sensation has the potential to be one of the greatest athletes in history.

Gout, widely considered one of the fastest youngsters in the world, has put together a series of breathtaking times in recent months to grab the attention of the very best in the business.

Sprint legend Usain Bolt has previously said that Gout “looks like young me” and now Tebogo, who upset Noah Lyles to win the 200m gold medal at Paris 2024, has had his say.

“His style of running, it’s top-notch,” Tebogo told journalists ahead of the Maurie Plant Meet in Melbourne this week.

“I believe he’s going to be the next big thing for the continent.”

Gout broke onto the scene in 2022 when he ran the 100m in 10.57 seconds as a 14-year-old, but garnered even more attention last year when he ran 200m in 20.60 at the World Athletics U20 Championships – 0.01 seconds faster than a 15-year-old Bolt managed in 2002.

He has continued his hot form into this season and ran a world-leading time of 20.05 seconds in the 200m earlier this month, just 0.01 outside his own Australian record which he set in December.

He then followed it up by becoming the first-ever Australian to break the 20-second barrier, running 19.98 seconds in the Queensland State Championships under-20 200m final. However, the time won’t stand as an official record because of illegal wind conditions (+3.6m/s).

Gout will race again in the 200m event in Melbourne this week, where he’s set to face Australia’s current fastest man, Lachie Kennedy.

The teenager will not be facing Tebogo, though, who will instead test himself in the 400m event.

“He can be one of the best, he can be in the history books,” Tebogo added, per Reuters. “If he continues the hunger that he has right now, he could go very far.”

Tebogo has warned Gout and his team to take things slowly, urging them to not rush into racing on the senior tour.

“The best advice I was told was that Rome wasn’t built in a day. I couldn’t get the concept at first,” the 21-year-old said.

“Just introduce him slowly to the seniors … because with the seniors we are all hungry to get the money, the medals and everything.”

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