- Michael Johnson says it’s fun to think about the Australian’s potential
- The sprint legend emphasized that Gout will need a solid team around him
- Gout Gout broke long-standing record over the weekend
Four-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Johnson has weighed in on the performances and hype surrounding Australian teenage sprint sensation Gout Gout.
The 16-year-old broke Peter Norman’s 56-year-old record at the Australian All Schools Athletics Championships in the 200m final last weekend, clocking a blistering time of 20.04.
He also recorded a wind-assisted time of 10.04 seconds in his 100 meter heat, which was the fifth-fastest time ever by an Australian in all conditions.
Since then, gout has become the name on everyone’s lips, with former track star turned TV identity Matt Shirvington suggesting the prodigy has more potential than Olympic legend Usain Bolt.
Usain Bolt himself responded to the hype surrounding Gout Gout, responding to a post on Jumper’s World with the simple comment: “I look young.”
Now Olympic sprint champion Michael Johnson has given his verdict and stressed the importance of the drop staying grounded.
Gout Gout, 16, broke Norman’s old record in the 200 meters at the Australian Schools Athletics Championships in Brisbane.
Athletics legend Michael Johnson praised the Australian teenager
Johnson posted on X: ‘Peter Norman was one of my heroes. It’s hard to believe no Australian has had a runner (sic) faster than 20.06 in the last 56 years!
‘Great performances! It’s fun to think about its potential. But even with such great potential, realizing it is something else entirely.
‘The greater the potential, the greater the risk. “He will need a strong team around him to help him navigate the journey.”
The sage advice comes after Athletics Australia president Jane Flemming declared the sporting organization will seek to “temper” the hype surrounding the teenage star.
Flemming, who won gold medals in the heptathlon and long jump at the Commonwealth Games, stressed that expectations should not reach manic levels.
“You can imagine at this point he will have all the sporting codes, all the agents, all the commercial entities, everyone will be after him and he hasn’t even finished year 11,” he told 2GB’s Wide World of Sports.
‘Part of our responsibility as an organization is to make sure that the young person reaches the age of 30 in good physical and mental shape, so we must try to moderate it… make sure that they go back to school, go out with their peers, he passes through everything well, while continuing to progress along the way.
‘It’s a long road. No wonder he’ll probably do the world championships next year and then the Olympics and other Olympics and maybe other Olympics after that.’
Johnson, one of the greatest sprinters of all time, says gout has great potential, but realizing it is something else entirely.
The Queenslander has been the talk of the country in recent days with dizzying performances.
Flemming added that Athletics Australia wants Gout to “have a long and fruitful career”, and the youngster is lucky to have a “fantastic coach in Di Sheppard”.
Athletics Australia high performance general manager Andrew Faichney said there was no limit to what Gout Gout could achieve.
“He is a great talent and is being well looked after by his coach Di Sheppard, as well as our high performance system,” Faichney said in a statement.
‘His silver medal at the U20 World Championships already showed us that he has what it takes to compete internationally.
“The world is his oysters and we look forward to seeing what he can do in the coming years as he makes his mark on his first senior teams.”