Even after 15 years, Usain Bolt’s 100m world record of 9.58 seconds remains untouchable, but the sprint legend himself believes it could have been even faster. Usain Bolt admitted his legendary 2009 Berlin sprint, hailed as the greatest ever, wasn’t actually his maximum effort.
At the 2009 World Championships, Bolt left the world in awe with a blistering 9.58-second 100m dash, shattering his own previous record.
“In those seconds, I was able to think. I divided the race into several segments. It is fast for the others, slow for me,” Bolt told La Repubblica.
“Maybe in the end, I could have pushed a little harder and finished at 9.55.”
That hypothetical time 9.55 would have been unimaginable at the time, and even today, no sprinter has come within a tenth of a second of Bolt’s actual record. His relaxed dominance in that race, where he visibly eased up before the finish, has long been a topic of debate. Bolt now confirms what many fans suspected, he had more in the tank.
Life After Sprinting: Dominoes, Football, and Six-Hour Gaming Sessions
Since retiring in 2017, Bolt has traded the track for a very different kind of competition, dominoes. The 38-year-old revealed that he now spends up to six hours a day playing the classic Caribbean game with friends in Jamaica, and the matches can get intense.
“If you see me playing dominoes, anybody following me on Instagram knows, when I play with my friends, I get really aggressive,” Bolt admitted during an appearance on The Jonathan Ross Show.
“It’s an exciting game. It’s very exciting and stressful.”
His competitive spirit still burns strong, just in a different arena.
“When I’m going to get to six points, I’ll get on the table and say: ‘My bag!’ just to celebrate,” he laughed, describing his signature victory move.
Before dominoes took over, Bolt briefly chased another dream, professional football. In 2018, he trained with Australia’s Central Coast Mariners, even scoring in a preseason friendly. However, when a full-time contract didn’t materialize, he happily returned to Jamaica, swapping cleats for domino tiles.
Why Bolt’s Record May Never Be Broken
Bolt’s revelation about his 9.58 run adds another layer to his legend. Most athletes spend their careers chasing records, Bolt casually admits he could have gone faster. His natural speed, combined with his ability to stay relaxed under pressure, made him a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon.
With no current sprinters even approaching his times, and Bolt himself suggesting he had untapped potential. The question lingers, will his 100m record ever fall? For now, the man himself is content dominating dominoes, one six-hour session at a time.