Gout Gout called 'soft' by American athletics star as 17-year-old faces brutal accusation

Gout Gout has been heavily criticised by American track star Noah Williams. The 26-year-old is less than impressed with the Australian, branding as "soft" ahead of the teenager's highly anticipated Diamond League debut in July.

The 17-year-old has put his name down to take part in the Under-23 200m event in Monaco on July 11, but decided against competing in the open category alongside big as well as the 100m event.

This choice has left Williams annoyed with the up-and-coming athlete. While appearing on the Track World News podcast, Williams expressed his disapproval over even suggesting the Australian might be avoiding the more challenging competitions.

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"The kid is super talented, but that's beside the point," the 400m runner said. "The narrative now is he's ducking these professional races.

"I see he's entered in the Diamond League races to run U-23, and I think that's really, really just soft. Being American and understanding our culture of how we choose to play up instead of playing down."

Gout's rise in Australian athletics has drawn comparisons to sprint legend Usain Bolt, with his wind-assisted times approaching the records set by the Jamaican icon.

The teenager has recorded a time of 9.99 seconds in the 100m, which is not far off of Bolt's stunning record of 9.58 seconds. With an impressive wind-aided 19.84 seconds over 200m at the Australian Athletics Championships, Gout's ambition is likely to surpass Bolt's 19.19-second performance in the future.

However, Gout's team is reportedly keen to protect the rising star from serious injury by not pitting him against the world's top sprinters too soon, which could put undue strain on his young body.

Consequently, Gout has yet to compete in the 100m sprint at the open level, choosing instead to run only in age-specific competitions, and was also held back from participating in the 4x100 relay at the recent World Athletics Relays event.

Despite taking a measured approach, Gout is confident he can follow in the footsteps of his idol, Bolt, who secured eight Olympic gold medals during his illustrious career.

"I think the limit is just obviously winning the Olympics and winning world championships and honestly dominating like Bolt did," Gout expressed to Fox Sports Australia's The Back Page earlier this month. "I think that limit is reachable for me."

With the Brisbane Games in 2032 on the horizon, there will be considerable expectation for Gout to perform well on home soil, assuming he qualifies. However, Gout is first setting his sights on making an impact at the LA Olympics in 2028.

"The times I've run so far could potentially make it into finals, make the top four, top five, top six," he added. "Just getting better and aiming for LA obviously would be a great achievement.

"Trying to be on that podium running against [Olympic 200m gold medallist Letsile] Tebogo, Noah [Lyles], [Lachlan] Kennedy, all them athletes, that's definitely a goal of mine - and to keep aiming for the top."

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