Tokyo
Usain Bolt, the world’s fastest man, believes he could have run the 100 metres in just 9.42 seconds if he had used today’s advanced sprinting shoes called carbon-plated “super-spikes.”
Bolt set the current world record of 9.58 seconds in 2009, and that record has now lasted for 16 years. Speaking before the World Championships in Tokyo, the Jamaican legend said, “I fully agree,” when told he could’ve run faster with modern spikes.
He pointed to fellow Jamaican sprinter Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who got faster using the new shoes. “If I had known the spikes would improve this much, I might have continued running,” Bolt added.
Kishane Thompson, another Jamaican, ran 9.75 seconds at the national championships in June, the fastest time in the last 10 years. Bolt believes Thompson or Oblique Seville could finally bring Jamaica another sprint gold.
Since Bolt retired in 2017, no Jamaican man has won a global sprint title. But Bolt is hopeful: “They’ve shown great speed this season. If they execute well, we could see a one-two finish.”
