Former American sprinter Justin Gatlin has warned people against drawing comparisons between breakout star Gout Gout and Olympic legend Usain Bolt.
Gout has quickly gained worldwide acclaim after running Olympic-standard times at just 16 years of age.
With eight gold medals in the sprinting competition at the Olympics, Bolt is considered the greatest sprinter of all time.
This comprises the men’s 100- and 200-meter world records.
2009 saw the setting of a record-breaking time of 9.58 seconds for the 100 meters, and that same year saw the setting of another record-breaking time of 19.19 seconds for the 200 meters.
Along with his Jamaican colleagues, he established the world mark for the 4×100-meter relay in London 2012, clocking in at 36.84 seconds.
Although Bolt’s replacement has already been predicted to be the Australian, Gatlin has cautioned against putting undue pressure on the young athlete who is only now starting to play professionally.
In addition to giving a timely reminder of Bolt’s accomplishments at the youth and senior levels, Olympic gold medallist in the 100 meters at the 2004 Athens games Gatlin also stated that Gout still has a long way to go before matching Jamaican level performance.
“When Bolt was a junior, he held the junior world record; at that time, in 2004, this dude ran 19 low nine. Not to take anything away from Gout Gout or anybody else that’s doing their thing right now and dominating.” 19:93 was his best, dude.
“He is surpassing these guys if you compare it to them today,” Gatlin stated on the Ready Set Go podcast.
“It seems like we give the bandwagoners the microphone when we declare that this person or that person is the next.
World records set by Usain Bolt
World records set by Usain Bolt
2009 Men’s 100-meter time: 9.58 seconds
Men’s 200m – 19.19 seconds (2009)
2012 Men’s 4×100-meter relay time: 36.84 seconds
“Stop placing these young athletes on a path that will lead to a lot of pressure and stress. Allow them to explore and grow on their own. Say something like, “No, I’m Gout Gout, and I’m going to be different,” if possible. I’m [Letsile] Tebogo, and I’m going to change.”
When Gout finished second in the 200-meter final at the U20 World Championships in 20.60 seconds, earlier this month, he went viral.
Gout’s present ranking might be the start of a spectacular rise over the coming years, yet Gatlin hopes his journey to the top of the sport is not delayed by unwanted attention.
Olympic great Usain Bolt is adamant that none of the sprinters competing today had the “talent” necessary to surpass his 100-meter record.
After returning a positive doping test in 2006, Gatlin was banned from athletics for four years. He was later unable to overtake Bolt, who went on to dominate the sport.
After turning back to sprinting, he won a bronze in the 100 meters in London in 2012 and a silver in Rio in 2016, trailing only Bolt in both events.
Still, Bolt regarded Gatlin as his most formidable opponent.
In 2021, the Jamaican spoke with the Hindustan Times, saying, “My toughest opponent was Justin Gatlin.” Because, in my opinion, he was always present mentally.
