Usain Bolt takes a dig at modern-day sprinters, says I could have run 9.42 in 'super-spikes'

Jamaican sprint king Usain Bolt has taken a direct dig at the current generation of sprinters, stating that advances in footwear technology have made it easier to run faster times. The eight-time Olympic gold medalist claimed he could have clocked an astonishing 9.42 seconds in the 100m if he had worn the new 'super-spikes' used by modern-day athletes. Bolt, whose 9.58 seconds world record - set in 2009 - for the 100 metres is now 16 years old, believes the modern sprinters won't be able to break his WR anytime soon despite having advantage.

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Speaking at a Puma event ahead of the World Championships in Tokyo, Bolt fully agreed with the research conducted by the shoe brand suggesting he could run 9.42 seconds in the latest spikes. "Someone who continued after I retired was Shelly-Anne Fraser-Pryce and I saw what she did - she got faster with the spikes," Bolt said on Thursday.


"I probably would have run way faster if I'd continued and if I knew that spikes would have got to that level maybe I would have, because it would have been great to compete at that level and running that fast," Bolt added.

Bolt, who retired in 2017, claimed unprecedented six Olympic golds and seven world titles in the 100m and 200m. Since his double-gold feat at the Rio Olympics in 2016, no Jamaican man has claimed a global sprint title.

"I think the talent is there and those who are coming up will do well but, at this present moment, I don't think they will be able to break the world record," he said.