Gout Gout Names His Favourite Athlete and It’s Not Usain Bolt or Noah Lyles

Australian sprinting sensation Gout Gout has bypassed athletics legends like Usain Bolt and Noah Lyles, instead naming football superstar Lionel Messi as his favourite athlete.

The 17-year-old has emerged as one of the most exciting young talents in track and field over the past 18 months. Gout made headlines when he broke Usain Bolt's under-16 200-metre record, cementing his status as a future star.

His personal bests are formidable: an Australian U18 record of 10.17 seconds in the 100 metres and a stunning 20.02 seconds in the 200 metres, which stands as an Oceanian record.

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Gout has already competed on the world stage, qualifying for the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. He narrowly missed a spot in the 200m final, finishing fourth in his semi-final. His performance was widely praised, with the Sydney Morning Herald describing it as an "A-grade performance" that "captured the imagination of the country."

Demonstrating his versatility, Gout also excels over longer distances, clocking a time of 46.18 seconds to win a 400-metre race at a Queensland schools meet last October.

Set to turn 18 this month, Gout has his sights on the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. In a recent interview with the Daily Mail, he was asked to name his favourite athlete.

Rather than choosing a track rival like Lyles or the world record holder Bolt, the Manchester City supporter picked the legendary Argentine footballer.

"If there was one sporting event I could go to, it would be the World Cup final," Gout said. "I stayed up into the middle of the night to watch the final in 2022 between Argentina and France, when Kylian Mbappe started that comeback and it went to penalties. I was shouting and screaming. I think I woke the whole house up."

With the 2032 Olympics set to be held in his home state of Brisbane, Gout has the potential to become the face of the Games. He will be just 24 years old, and if his remarkable rise continues, he is poised to be one of the event's poster athletes.

The young sprinter reflected on the pressure of competing at the World Championships, viewing it as a crucial learning experience.

"I felt the step up. It's the biggest stage, apart from the Olympics," he explained. "I learned a lot for sure about myself and how to deal with the pressure. And I think just the way I held myself, I was pretty happy with that."

"I put a lot of pressure on myself, being a young kid and just trying to be the best I possibly can. So I think I learned to try to have a bit of fun with it. I definitely learned that the more fun I have with it, the better I compete, the more I enjoy it."