'He should play with his age mates' – Tebogo advises Gout Gout after tough Diamond League debut
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Reading Time: 3min | Thu. 11.06.26. | 16:02
The 18-year-old Australian could only manage sixth place in the men's 200m at the Oslo Diamond League on Wednesday, 10 June
Australian sprint sensation Gout Gout has been urged to take a measured approach to his burgeoning career after enduring a difficult Diamond League debut in Oslo, with Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo warning the teenager against rushing into senior competition.
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The 18-year-old Australian could only manage sixth place in the men's 200m at the Oslo Diamond League on Wednesday, 10 June, clocking 20.60 seconds after a sluggish start from the blocks.
It was a far cry from the blistering 19.67 seconds he produced at the Australian Athletics Championships in April, a performance that not only shattered his own national record but also eclipsed Usain Bolt's fastest time as a teenager.
While Gout struggled, Botswana's Tebogo delivered a statement performance, storming to victory in 19.84 seconds to trim more than a tenth off his season's best.
Speaking after the race, Tebogo revealed he had wanted to speak with the Australian youngster but was unable to do so because of the intense media attention surrounding him.
"After the race, I wanted to talk to Gout Gout, but he is so busy with all the media," Tebogo told Track and Field Gazette.
The reigning Olympic 200m champion then offered some candid advice, urging the teenager to continue competing primarily against athletes in his own age category.
"First and foremost, he should not get comfortable racing with the seniors. He still has a long way to go. He should, by all means, play with his age mates where he is a bit more comfortable, because the more he runs, the more he pushes, and the more injuries he is going to get.
I hope his management, the coaches, and everybody around him will advise that because that is what worked for me,” he said.
Tebogo's comments stem from personal experience. The Botswanan star burst onto the international scene after winning the 100m title at the 2022 World Athletics U20 Championships in Cali before gradually transitioning into senior competition.
According to him, several athletes from his generation struggled after making the jump too early.
"I have seen a lot of people my age racing with seniors, and it did not go well for them. I believe I am the only one still standing from Kenya through Calli (2022 World Junior Championships) until now and running with the seniors," he added.
Despite the setback in Oslo, Gout's rise remains one of athletics' most fascinating stories.
The teenager became the first Australian athlete to legally break the 20-second barrier in the 200m when he clocked 19.67 seconds with a legal +1.7m/s tailwind in April. The time would have been good enough for a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics and silver at the Tokyo Games.
His performances have inevitably sparked comparisons with Jamaican legend Bolt, whose fastest teenage 200m clocking was 19.93 seconds.
Gout will now have little time to dwell on his Oslo disappointment as an even bigger challenge awaits him next week.
The Australian prodigy is set to face reigning Olympic 100m champion Noah Lyles in a blockbuster 150m showdown at the Ostrava Golden Spike Meeting, a race already being billed as one of the headline attractions of the event.
Lyles enters the contest as one of the most accomplished sprinters of his generation, having won Olympic gold in Paris and captured four consecutive world titles in the 200m.
Although the pair have never competed against each other, they are not strangers. Gout and Lyles previously trained together in Clermont, Florida, in January 2025.
For Gout, the race will mark a return to happy hunting grounds. He won the 200m in Ostrava last year in 20.02 seconds, a performance that announced him as one of sprinting's brightest young prospects.