‘I hope it doesn’t get him down’: Usain Bolt tells Gout Gout to get ready to lose

• ‘It’s all about just learning right now,’ says Jamaican sprint great

• Young Australian will face some of world’s best in busy 2026

Like running fast, growing pains are something sprint lord Usain Bolt knows something about. So when he tells teenage phenomenon Gout Gout that his first steps into the world of senior athletics will not be easy, the Australian ought to take heed.

“I know it’s going to be an eye-opener,” Bolt told CNN of Gout’s first year as an adult, and an impending succession of showdowns against the world’s best sprinters. “And I hope it doesn’t get him down, but motivate him to work even harder.”