Noah Lyles has declared Australian sprint prodigy Gout Gout more talented than he was at the same age, after the 17-year-old missed out on a place in the 200m final at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. Gout finished fourth in his semi-final in 20.36 seconds, but impressed at his first global meet.
“He’s more talented than I was,” said Lyles, who ran the fastest semi-final time of 19.51 seconds. “He’s an amazing kid, he’s got a great head on him, he’s got a great team around him.” Lyles noted that the transition to professional competition would be a significant challenge for Gout, who is still a student.
“It’s going to be interesting to see how he develops,” Lyles added. “The thing that I always look for when I’m looking at younger talent is, ‘hey, are you just going to be able to train into shape?’ Because when you’re in high school, you’re able to just get races all the time whenever you want. But as a pro, you’ve got to come prepared already.”
Gout remained optimistic despite missing the final. “Obviously, I was aiming for that sub [20 seconds], but today wasn’t the day, God didn’t allow it today, but I know for sure in the future, it’s going to be coming,” he said. “The biggest eye-opener is knowing that I can compete at the young age I am, against the best men in the world. The thing that I have on them is time. They may not have 15 years, but I’ve got 15 years for sure.”
Lyles set up a mouth-watering final with fellow American Kenny Bednarek and Jamaican Bryan Levell, while Britain’s Zharnel Hughes also advanced. Dina Asher-Smith competes in the women’s final.
