For more than a decade, Usain Bolt’s youth and senior records stood as the gold standard of sprinting greatness. But now, as next-gen athletes and revolutionary technology enter the scene, the sprint world finds itself at a thrilling crossroads. Rising stars like Erriyon Knighton and innovations like “smart tracks” actively challenge the legacy of the world’s fastest man today.
In May 2021, American phenom Erriyon Knighton ran 20.11 in the 200m at just 17 years old, toppling Bolt’s under-18 mark of 20.13 set in 2003. Then came Noah Lyles, who scorched the track at the 2022 World Championships with a blazing 19.31 in the 200m, making him the third-fastest man ever over that distance. Down under, Australia’s 16-year-old sensation Gout Gout clocked a jaw-dropping 10.29 in the 100m in 2024, showing early flashes of greatness that could one day rival Bolt’s iconic 9.58 and 19.19 from 2009.
On August 16, 2009, in Berlin, Jamaica’s legend blazed 9.58 seconds in the 100m—still the unbeaten world record today.
“It was everything,” Bolt recalled as quoted by Essentially Sports.
“I was very, very confident because I was coming off a record year.”
Riding momentum from his Beijing 2008 triple gold, Bolt hit Berlin’s track determined not just to win, but rewrite history.
That day, Bolt’s confidence was sky-high. So much so, he made bets with his coach Glen Mills and his friend Ricky on how fast he’d go.
“That’s how confident I was in winning,” he admitted.
“Execution was everything. I started staring at the clock because now I was like, ‘Alright, how fast am I gonna run?’”
And now, something else is unfolding—something that could alter sprinting as we know it. Researchers testing a new “smart track” near Cambridge, England, may soon redefine the limits of human running speed. Olympic gold medalist Darren Campbell champions Feldspar Sport’s futuristic track, which delivers 20 percent more energy return than elite-level surfaces.
“We anticipate it will be 20 percent faster than the Paris Olympic track,” said Feldspar CEO Alvina Chen in a statement to The Telegraph.
Engineers built the smart track using high-tech rubber, recycled circuit boards, and a cantilever system that redirects energy forward efficiently. Engineers designed the track to return 90 percent of an athlete’s power, significantly outperforming current leading surfaces at 70 percent.
“When did we last have some form of technology that isn’t a shoe?” Campbell asked.
Young athletes chasing glory and increasingly competitive tracks suggest Bolt’s era of dominance may soon face its greatest challenge yet.