Featured Image Credit: YouTube/Speed Showdown
Topics: Usain Bolt, Athletics, Olympics
Ryan Smart
A simulation of a race between an 'average person' and Usain Bolt shows exactly what it would be like to take on the fastest man of all time.
Bolt still holds world records in the 100 metres and 200 metres, with his 100m time of 9.58 at London 2012 unlikely to be broken by the current generation of sprinters.
He is an eight-time Olympic gold medalist, holding the distinction of winning gold in every final he was ever classified in during his career.
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The fastest 100m times have generally dropped by two to three tenths since Bolt’s record run.
Prior to the Paris 2024 Olympics, fellow Jamaican Kishane Thompson ran 9.77 at a meeting in Kingston - making him the quickest man on the planet in 2024.
YouTube user Speed Showdown has posted a comparison video between an average person and Usain Bolt both running the 100 metres.
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The average person - named Robert - completes his run in a respectable 15 seconds flat. And while Robert (who is AI generated) might have been quite pleased with himself for that, he then has to take on Bolt.
Robert gets a good launch, and is level with the Jamaican icon for about half a metre. Unfortunately for him, that’s as good as it gets.
What we see next is the surreal sight of Bolt sprinting away from his competitor at an almost unbelievable rate of knots, and by 50 metres, Robert isn’t even in the picture.
His time stops at his 9.58 record, and given the time it takes for Robert to get to the line, you’d be forgiven for thinking his AI might have just given up.
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But he does arrive at the finishing line nearly six seconds later, after proving exactly what it would be like to take on the greatest of all time.
While Bolt is now retired, having hung up the spikes back in 2017, he will no doubt be keeping a close eye on what goes down in the Stade de France this summer.
Speaking on the Obi One Podcast earlier this month, the 37-year-old picked out young American sprinter Erriyon Knighton as a star of the future.
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Like Bolt, the 20-year-old runs 100m and 200m, and his personal best in the latter is only three tenths shy of Bolt’s 2009 world record of 19.19.
The eight-time Olympic gold medalist explained: “There is one kid who had my attention for a while. He ran 19.40-something. He’s just turning 20. So he was pretty good.
“But it’s all about developing the talent. You have to find a good coach, someone to nurture and understand how to nurture the talent and help to build that talent.
“When I saw him I thought, ‘This kid really impressed me’.”