Usain Bolt shares his thoughts as his records are challenged after Gout Gout’s amazing performances.
Usain Bolt is still officially the fastest man the world has ever seen, thanks to his amazing run at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin. But now, there’s a new young challenger: 18-year-old Gout Gout from Australia.
Gout has been getting everyone excited because he’s been running really fast at recent events. In April, he won the Australian national 200 meters title again, setting a new Australian record and a world under-20 record with a time of 19.67 seconds. That’s the 16th fastest time ever in the world!
At only 18, many believe Gout has the potential to improve even more and maybe one day beat Bolt’s record. But Bolt recently shared his thoughts in an interview with TNT Sports, saying he’s not worried about young stars like Gout breaking his records just yet.
Bolt said, “I have seen so many talents coming up. It’s a long journey because when I was younger, I did a lot of different things to get fast. It’s all about how you train and having the right team to support you.”
The eight-time Olympic champion seems confident his records will last for a long time. He believes that Gout and others need to be patient and build their careers step by step, just like he did.
Bolt turned pro in 2004 when he was 20, but his early career was slowed down by a hamstring injury. He didn’t perform as well as he wanted at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. It wasn’t until the Beijing Olympics in 2008 that he really became famous.
Because Bolt’s rise was gradual, he thinks young sprinters like Gout should take their time in developing to reach their full potential.
Bolt might also worry that if he loses the title of the world’s fastest man, he could be forgotten — just like the previous record holder, his fellow Jamaican Asafa Powell. While Powell is respected in athletics, many people don’t realize he was once the fastest man in the world before Bolt came along.