Olympic champion tells Gout Gout to bide his time after sixth place finish

It was a tough baptism for sprinting star Gout Gout, who finished deep in the field in his first Diamond League race – the top men’s competition in Europe.

He came for the experience and he got it.

Gout was slow out of the blocks, as is his custom, but could not make up ground with his regular slingshot off the bend in a field of seasoned racers in the 200m final at the Oslo Diamond League.

He finished sixth in 20.20 seconds behind Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo who claimed victory with a 19.84. There was the gentlest of tailwinds (+0.2) for the race.

The new under 20 world record holder last year made the semi-finals at the world championships in Tokyo, so he knows what it is to race the best men in the world and hold his own. This was another step in his senior racing education.

“It’s a great atmosphere here, I’m excited to be here,” Gout said after the race.

“This was my very first Diamond League and I thank God for this wonderful opportunity. Tebogo is a great athlete. I’ve looked up to him for a long time and he deserved the win today.

“There’s definitely a lot more room for me to improve, but I have plenty of time on my side. There’s always pressure on me but all I do is try my best and keep focusing on just having fun.

“I love competing against the big boys, and I’ll be back for sure. I put no limits on myself.”

Tebogo said he could empathise with where Gout was at in his career and advised him to hasten slowly, to race in his age group and not hurry to compete against men.

“After the race, I wanted to talk to Gout Gout, but he is so busy with all the media,” Tebogo said.

“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.

“I have seen a lot of people my age racing with seniors, and then it did not go well for them.”

Tebogo was also a teen phenom. He won the 100m at the 2021 World U20 Championships in Nairobi when he was 18.

Tebogo and Gout will race at the Lausanne Diamond League on August 21.

Gout races his occasional training partner – the 100m Olympic and world champion – Noah Lyles next week.

However, Gout will not race at the Commonwealth Games and will instead focus on the World U20 Championships in Eugene in early August.