One of Usain Bolt’s most impressive world records could be beaten next week at the 2025 Atlanta City Games.
It’s common knowledge that Jamaican sprinting sensation Bolt is the fastest man on earth, with record times in the 100m and 200m events.
In the 100 metres, Bolt ran a sensational time of 9.58 seconds at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin and nobody has come close to knocking him off his perch.
At the very same event, Bolt cruised in the 200m metres with a record time of 19.19 seconds – another feat which still stands 16 years on.
It appears as though Bolt’s times could be under threat if an innovative ‘super track’ gets the green light – with Alvina Che, a Hong Kong-born sprinter and the brains behind the project, believing “early nine seconds if not sub nine seconds” is possible.
But before that, Bolt could be usurped without the presence of groundbreaking technology. Also in 2009, prior to the World Athletics Championships, Bolt ran a 150 metres race on Deansgate in Manchester for the Great City Games event.
On a track laid in the street, Bolt set a new world record time of 14.35 seconds – eclipsing the previous top time of 14.97 seconds from British sprinting icon Linford Christie.
Bolt’s record is still intact but last year, Noah Lyles clocked in at 14.41 – just 0.06 seconds off the Jamaican.
It is the second-fastest time recorded over the distance and the very same time achieved by Bolt’s long-time rival Tyson Gay.
Lyles has got faster every time he has ran 150m, with his very first effort coming in at 14.77 seconds. The US sprinter, who won gold in the 100 metres at the Paris Olympics, will race against Zharnel Hughes, Alexander Ogando and Ferdinand Omanyala on May 17.
Usain Bolt also holds the record for the fastest time over 150 metres.
Usain Bolt also holds the record for the fastest time over 150
Usain Bolt named the sprinter who can break his world record
Lyles’ name has regularly been mentioned alongside Bolt, who has been asked about whether the 27-year-old can be the heir to his throne.
However, Bolt has already admitted that he sees compatriot Oblique Seville, who came last in Lyles’ 100m gold medal race, as the man most likely to break his world record time.
“I feel like Oblique can do it. If he can stay fit during the season and get it right, I feel he can do it, because I am sure there is something there, the ability to do it,” Bolt said on The Fix Podcast.
“Some of the time Oblique can be fragile. It’s a matter of the work situation or whatever, but if he’s doing enough work, he can do it.
“It’s a matter of time because he’s not missed the finals yet, so it’s just to get over the hump.
“He’s the master and he just needs to find the right season, stay clean and do the right thing, and if the coach believes him and the coach says. It’s just that he needs to put it all together.”
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