Jamaican sprint icon Usain Bolt has revealed one of his biggest career regrets — retiring too soon. The world’s fastest man believes his early exit from athletics gave fellow Jamaican superstar Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce the perfect opportunity to extend her dominance on the global stage. In a recent interview, the eight-time Olympic champion reflected on how advances in track technology, particularly the rise of carbon “super-spikes,” would have changed the course of his career if he had continued competing.
Bolt explained that his famous 100m world record of 9.58 seconds, set at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, could have been even faster had he competed in today’s era. The record, which shattered his previous 9.69s mark from the 2008 Beijing Olympics, has remained untouched for 16 years — making him the longest-reigning 100m record holder in history. A research study by his long-time sponsor, Puma, estimated that with the latest carbon-plated spike technology, Bolt could have clocked an astonishing 9.42 seconds, a projection he completely agrees with. “If I had continued running with the kind of spikes athletes use today, I know for sure I would’ve gone faster,” Bolt said confidently.
He pointed to Fraser-Pryce’s post-2017 performances as clear proof of the spike revolution’s impact on speed. “Shelly-Ann continued after I retired, and I saw how she kept getting faster with the new spikes. If I had stayed on the track and used those, I probably would’ve run much quicker,” he admitted. Fraser-Pryce’s rise in the years following Bolt’s retirement only reinforces that belief. After first claiming Olympic gold in 2008, the Jamaican sprint queen went on to enjoy her most successful seasons long after Bolt had exited the scene.
In 2019, she won her fourth world 100m title in Doha, clocking 10.71 seconds (her fastest time since 2013) and making history as the oldest woman and first mother since Gwen Torrence in 1995 to win a global sprint title. Then, at 35, she captured her fifth world crown at the 2022 World Championships in Oregon, finishing in 10.67 seconds the fastest time ever recorded in a women’s global final. That same season, she ran sub-10.70 seconds seven times and achieved nine overall in her career, a feat unmatched by any female sprinter in history.
Fraser-Pryce’s incredible consistency and improvement in her mid-30s demonstrate how much the sport has evolved and support Bolt’s belief that modern technology has redefined sprinting performance. Her achievements, he says, represent the kind of progress he might have experienced had he continued competing beyond 2017. Yet despite acknowledging how far shoe innovation has come, Bolt remains confident that his 9.58-second world record will remain intact for the foreseeable future.
“There’s definitely talent out there,” Bolt said, referring to Jamaica’s new sprint stars like Kishane Thompson and Oblique Seville. “But right now, I don’t see anyone touching that record.” Though his decision to retire may have been hasty, Bolt’s legacy continues to shape the next generation — while Fraser-Pryce’s continued brilliance proves that when one legend steps aside, another rises to carry the torch forward.
