He's Gout of this world

WORLD CHAMPS: CAN THIS AUSSIE TEEN FILL THE VOID LEFT BY USAIN BOLT?

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Gout Gout's name has sparked debate but the real question for the athletics world is whether the exciting Australian teenage sprinter can fill the vacuum left by Usain Bolt.

The precocious 17-year-old born to South Sudanese parents who fled the war-torn country via Egypt and arrived in Australia in 2006 makes his world championships debut in the 200 metre heats in Tokyo today.

Three-time defending champion Noah Lyles and Olympic gold medallist Letsile Tebogo may claim they have the right to be considered Bolt's heirs.

However, for many the tall and rangy Gout is the one who has the raw potential to become the undisputed superstar of sprinting to succeed Bolt.

The Jamaican eight-time Olympic gold medallist and still the 100m and 200m world record holder retired in 2017.

Gout ran 20.04sec at last year's Australian All Schools Athletics Championship, only the second athlete to record a time faster than Bolt's Under-18 best of 20.13sec.

In doing so he also broke the 56-year-old Australian national senior record set by the late Peter Norman when he took bronze in the 1968 200m Olympic final.