Ever wondered how you would fare against Usain Bolt in an 100m sprint? A simulation has revealed just that. Spoilers: It's not particularly close.
Bolt may well be retired these days, but the legendary athlete retains the title of being the fastest man in history.
Back in 2009, the Jamaican sprinter cemented his name in the history books by running 100m in 9.58 seconds in Berlin, a time no runner has come all that close to in the 16 years since.
Funnily enough, American speedster Tyson Gay did set a remarkably fast time of 9.69 the month after Bolt's world record, which remains the second fastest time in history.
Advert
While Bolt has lost one particular record in the years since his retirement, it might be a long time until we see an athlete as fast as the six foot five Jamaican.
And for those of you over-confident chaps out there who fancy your chances of taking on the 38-year-old's record, a simulation has now shown exactly why your average Joe wouldn't even come close.
YouTube user Speed Showdown has posted a comparison video between an average person and Usain Bolt both running the 100 metres.
In the video, average bloke Robert Smith takes to the starting line and completes the 100m in a fairly respectable time of 15 seconds, which seems fairly fast, but then he has to take on Bolt himself.
You might be thinking that five and a bit seconds over Bolt's time might mean the race is close but the reality in running is that even 0.1 seconds is a lot when it comes to reaching the finish line.
And Robert manages to match Bolt's stride for less than a second before he gets left in the dust, and isn't even still in the picture by the time we reach the 50m point.
By the time the AI runner crosses the line, Bolt has already wrapped the Jamaica flag around his shoulders, collected his medal and spoken to the press, having crossed the line on 9.58 seconds. And if you think that's fast, you should try racing Britney Spears.
Even these days, most of us would still be smoked by the 38-year-old Bolt, as he revealed earlier this year that he still reckons a sub 11-second time would be on the cards for the eight-time Olympic gold medal winner, although sadly a return to the sport seems unlikely due to the hamstring issues he suffered towards the end of his career.
But it seems like Jamaica is still the birthplace of the world's greatest sprinters, as fellow Jamaican Kishane Thompson ran 9.77 to make him the fastest man in 2024, while Ghanaian athlete Abdul-Rasheed Saminu and US sprinter Kenneth Bednarek share the title in 2025 so far after registering a lightning-quick 9.86.
Topics: Usain Bolt, YouTube
James Moorhouse