Former American sprinter Wallace Spearmon has shared about the time his good friend Usain Bolt slapped him awake before a race, only to get smoked on the track moments later.
During an appearance on the Ready Set Go Podcast with Justin Gatlin, Spearmon recounted the unforgettable incident, which took place before a meet in Sheffield, England, in 2007 or 2008, back when Bolt was still rising to global dominance.
At the time, Spearmon was known as one of Bolt’s toughest competitors, frequently trading wins in the 200m. But on this particular day, the American was struggling with pre-race nerves—something he rarely experienced.
“It’s raining, it’s cold, and I’m like, ‘I don’t feel like running, but it is what it is,’” Spearmon recalled. “Then, for some reason, I get nervous. I rarely ever get nervous in races, but this time I did.”
The nerves led to an unusual pre-race nap.
“I fell asleep. At the track. In the warm-up area. No alarms, no nothing—and I mean I was sleeping good. I don’t even know if I was twitching or snoring or what.”
Then came the moment Wallace Spearmon still hasn’t forgiven Bolt for.
“Out of nowhere, I swear to God—Bolt walks over while I’m asleep and slaps the yellow off my skin. BOW. He goes, ‘Wake up! You got 10 minutes before final call—we got a race.’”
The rude awakening left Spearmon fuming, especially since Bolt waited until the last possible moment to wake him.
“I was like, ‘You dirty mo—’ Number one, you just slapped the shadow outta me. Number two, why you wait till we had 10 minutes left? That’s messed up.”
With a literal red slap mark on his face (thanks to his light complexion), Spearmon channeled his rage into the race—and destroyed Bolt at the finish line.
“During the race—this was 2007 to 2008—I dipped his ass through the line. We cross the line and he leans over and says: ‘I should’ve let your ass sleep through the race.’”
Despite the on-track revenge, Spearmon still jokes that he owes Bolt one more slap for the incident.
“Yeah, he slapped the shadow outta me. He talked about getting his lick back—man, I never got my lick back for that one. Where you going? I owe one more for that.”
Though Bolt would later become an eight-time Olympic gold medalist and world record holder in the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relay, moments like these remind fans that even the greatest athletes don’t take themselves too seriously.
Spearmon, who boasts a personal best of 19.65 seconds in the 200m (making him the 13th fastest man ever in the event), has always had a playful yet competitive relationship with Bolt. Their friendship, filled with pranks and trash talk, adds a humanizing layer to the intense world of professional sprinting.
