Australian prodigy Gout Gout surpassed Bolt's debut performance at the World Championship.

Gout Gout's debut at the World Athletics Championship

According to The Sun: Usain Bolt watched as 17-year-old Gout Gout, a member of the Australian team, became a sprint sensation, surpassing him in an elite debut.

Gout became the youngest athlete in the Australian team at the World Athletics Championship in Tokyo, setting a national record in the 200m race — 20.02 seconds. He is also the youngest competitor in this distance event.

Although he did not start very quickly, he finished with 20.23 seconds in the preliminary heat, taking third place and securing his spot in the semifinals. However, to reach the finals, he will most likely need to break the 20-second barrier.

The winner of his heat was Jamaican Bryan Levell, who posted the best time — 19.84 seconds, along with Noah Lyles and reigning Olympic champion Lestil Tebogo, who also advanced to the semifinals.

Comments from Gout Gout

Gout evaluated his debut in major competitions positively:

“I felt that everyone in my heat was not giving their all, except for the two leaders.'

“So I was just controlling the pace in the last 50, 30 meters. That is what I needed.'

“Of course, there are certain expectations wherever I go. But I just come out to compete and do my thing.'

“Starting is not my strong side, but as soon as I start running, I relax.'

“It's great to be here, competing on the world stage. I'm very happy and can't wait for the semifinals.'

“It's an excellent experience — running against such great athletes, and I'm just glad to keep going.”

39-year-old Bolt sat in the stands watching Gout's performance. However, the young man did not repeat Bolt's traumatic story in his debut on the big stage.

“Bolt — marked with eight Olympic gold medals and eleven World Championship medals — ran the first round at the 2004 Olympics with a time of 21.05.”

Gout has every chance to leave his mark in the history of athletics if he can achieve success on the Olympic and world stages.