Jamaican sprint legend Usain Bolt, who famously ran a jaw-dropping 9.58 seconds in the 100 metres at the 2009 World Athletics Championships in Berlin, has long dominated human competition. But with no athlete since coming close to breaking his record, fans and content creators have pitted Bolt against various animals in digital races for years.
In the latest high-speed showdown, the YouTube channel Global Data staged a fantasy race between Usain Bolt and a field of animal and prehistoric competitors.
This simulation wasn’t just another Usain Bolt-versus-cheetah matchup. The starting lineup featured a cheetah, the world’s fastest land animal, alongside three dinosaurs: a nanotyrannus, a pachycephalosaurus, and a gallimimus. They were joined by a horse, an ostrich, a greyhound, a dog, a saber-toothed smilodon, and, for comparison, an average human being.
As the virtual starting gun fired, it was clear there would be no photo finish at the top. The cheetah exploded from the blocks, reaching the finish line in a staggering 3.27 seconds, clocking a blistering 68mph (109km/h). In second place came the nanotyrannus, covering the distance in 4.50 seconds, while the ostrich delivered an unexpected late charge to edge out the gallimimus for third.
The horse, clearly in form since its last simulation outing, improved its time to 6.0 seconds, finishing ahead of the pachycephalosaurus at 6.58 seconds and the smilodon at 7.50 seconds.
Usain Bolt crossed the line in his legendary 9.58 seconds, comfortably defeating the dog, which clocked 10.27 seconds, and the average human being, who managed 15.65 seconds.
While no one expected Bolt to outrun a cheetah or a prehistoric predator, the simulation highlights just how exceptional both nature’s speedsters and Bolt’s world record truly are. Even in a race filled with ancient giants and lightning-fast animals, Bolt remains unmatched in the human world.
