Justin Gatlin makes Gout Gout opinion clear after 16-year-old broke Usain Bolt’s record

Retired speedster Justin Gatlin has urged the athletics world to be cautious about hailing teen sensation Gout Gout as the next Usain Bolt. That's despite the youngster registering elite-standard sprint times at just 16 years of age and putting the sport on notice that a new power has surfaced.

The Australian whizz-kid has elicited a major buzz in athletics circles, being labelled the successor to Bolt's legacy of 100-metre dominance. But Gatlin has stressed the importance of tempering expectations for someone stepping onto the pro circuit at such a young age.

Gatlin - who won 100m gold at the 2004 Athens Olympics - highlighted the achievements of Bolt during his teenage years to put things into perspective. As impressive as Gout is already proving to be at such an early stage of his career, there's progress to be made before he can match the Jamaican great at the sport's pinnacle.

Gatlin emphasised this on the Ready Set Go podcast (via The Mirror), where he reflected on Bolt's extraordinary records as a junior: "Looking at what Bolt did - and not taking anything away from Gout Gout or anybody else that's doing their thing right now and dominating - when Bolt was a junior, he had the junior world record, which at that point in time, in 2004, this dude ran 19 low nine. 19.93 was his record, bro. [If] you put that against these guys today, he is eclipsing them.

"To say that this person is the next and that person is the next, I feel like we give the microphone to the bandwagoners. Stop putting these young athletes on a path that comes with a lot of stress [and] comes with a lot of pressure. Let them go out there and develop themselves. If anything, let them say, 'No, I'm Gout Gout, I'm about to be different. I'm [Letsile] Tebogo, I'm about to be different.'"

Queenslander Gout turned heads earlier in September when he secured a silver medal in the U20 World Championships' 200m final in Peru. He zipped across the finish line in 20.60 seconds, precisely one-hundredth of a second faster than Bolt's time in 2002, which was then a record for any 16-year-old.

The impressive feat signals exciting potential for Gout's future, provided he follows a steady upward trajectory in the sprint world. Gatlin was once overshadowed by Bolt's illustrious presence following his return from a doping ban that sidelined him for four years.

And the American is no stranger to the challenges of competing in the limelight. Despite his story of the doping scandal that rocked his career in 2006, Gatlin made a remarkable comeback to claim 100m bronze at London 2012 and a silver at Rio 2016, always running in Bolt's wake as he claimed gold both times.

The four-time world champion might have felt more confident if he hadn't been under such immense pressure during his days on the track. And it seems Gatlin believes Gout Gout's prospects of surpassing Bolt's record could be enhanced if he's allowed to develop in a less stressful environment.