"We give the microphone to the bandwagoners" - Justin Gatlin silences comparisons of 16-year-old Gout Gout with Usain Bolt

Justin Gatlin weighed in on the ongoing head-on comparisons of 16-year-old Gout Gout with Usain Bolt. According to him, young athletes should be allowed to develop in their own ways rather than being pressured to walk in any legendary footsteps.

Gatlin, the five-time Olympic and 10-time World medalist, often shared the track with his Jamaican counterpart Bolt until the latter retired in 2017. After ending his track career in 2022, Gatlin shifted to hosting the Ready Set Go podcast with track coach Rodney Green, discussing athletes and their races.

Recently, he addressed the ongoing comparisons between 16-year-old Australian sprinter Gout Gout and Usain Bolt. The Brisbane-born youngster rose to fame with his stellar 100m win in 10.2s at the 2024 Queensland Athletics Championships. Besides his speed, he left the internet abuzz with his stride resembling Bolt's.

Gatlin opined that people dubbing Gout Gout as 'the next Usain Bolt' was not ideal. Bolt's U20 world record stands at 19.93 and his career trajectory surpasses every other athlete. However, Gatlin suggested that youngsters shouldn't feel pressured to match anybody's standards and rather pave their own path and embrace individuality.

"When Bolt was a junior, he had the junior world record, which at that point in time, in 2004, because I remember I was there, this dude ran 19, low 9. You put that against these guys today, he is eclipsing them. To say that this person's the next and that person's the next, I feel like we give the microphone to the bandwagoners," Justin Gatlin said on Ready Set Go podcast via X.

He added:

"Stop putting these young athletes on a path that comes with a lot of stress, comes with a lot of pressure. Let them go out there and develop themselves.. Let this man figure out how he want to be successful. Let the man do what he want to do."

Gout Gout on comparisons with Usain Bolt - "Pretty Cool"

When the comparisons with Bolt started with his 100m run in Queensland, Gout Gout was happy, as the latter is inarguably the greatest of all time.

"It’s pretty cool because Usain Bolt is arguably the greatest athlete of all time and just being compared to him is a great feeling," Gout said (via Fox Sports).

However, he wished to make an individual name for himself, something that Justin Gatlin also addressed in his Ready Set Go podcast.

"Obviously I’m Gout Gout so I’m trying make a name for myself. If I can get to the level he was that would be a great achievement.”

At the recently concluded U20 World Championships, the Australian posted 20.60s in the 200m, 0.01s faster than Bolt's 16-year-old time at the same event in 2002. Gout Gout clinched the silver ahead of 18-year-old Bayanda Walaza of South Africa.