Featured Image Credit: Instagram/@britneyspears
Topics: Britney Spears, Music, Sport, Usain Bolt, Social Media, Viral
Dan Seddon
Topics: Britney Spears, Music, Sport, Usain Bolt, Social Media, Viral
Usain Bolt's 100-metre sprint legacy was once up for debate thanks to a bizarre claim from Britney Spears.
The Jamaican athlete, who retired from competitive sport in 2017, became a world record holder eight years earlier at the Berlin World Athletics Championships - channeling Roadrunner to finish the race in just 9.58 seconds.
100m isn't the only discipline he reigns supreme in either, as the 200m record belongs to Bolt too.
When 'Oops! I Did It Again' singer Spears logged onto Instagram one day back in 2020, though, she revealed that Bolt's 100m time had been crushed.
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Spears alleged that she'd ran the same distance in 5.97 seconds.
"Ran my first 5!!!!" read a social media post. "Getting over your fear of pushing it in the beginning is key... Once I did that I hit 5!!!!! Usually I run 6 or 7... My first try was 9... and now I did it whoop!!!!! 100 meter dash [winking emoji]."
Unsurprisingly, the whole thing was one big wind-up.
"PS …. obviously I was joking about running the 100 meter dash in 5.97 seconds …. the world record is held by Usain Bolt which is 9.58 seconds. But you better believe I'm coming for the world record," the musical icon later added.
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If you're interested in seeing just how fast Spears would've needed to run to better Bolt's record by four seconds, here's a simulation showing exactly that. There's also a simulation which shows Usain going up against a cheetah and a regular person - and the video is pretty crazy.
Recently sitting down for the Obi One Podcast, Bolt was asked how quick he is eight years after hanging up his running shoes.
"I don't want to insult you here, but would you still be under 11 seconds?" asked podcaster and ex-footballer John Obi Mikel.
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"Yeah, of course!" said his incredulous guest. "10 and a half, that would be me."
Mikel, who played for Chelsea, Trabzonspor, and the Nigerian national team, then offered Bolt a pair of running spikes to try his luck in, but the Olympian suggested he'd "probably rip my hamstring" if he attempted to use them.
"I'd probably run reserved but I've said this now... everyone asks me this, so I thought I'm going to go home, I'm going to train for three weeks, do the work for three weeks, then go to a track and run and see how fast seriously, so I can pull it out!"