"I would have run 9.5s on this track" - American sprinting legend shares why Noah Lyles and other top sprinters aren't able to break Usain Bolt's WR

By Abhiruchi Rout

Modified Oct 20, 2024 18:02 GMT

American sprint legend Maurice Greene reflected on why sprinters of the current era, like Noah Lyles and others, have not surpassed Usain Bolt’s world record yet. He suggested that today's athletes are more focused on social media rather than honing their skills.

Bolt shattered both 100m and 200m world records at the 2009 World Championships held in Berlin, Germany, clocking sensational times of 9.58s and 19.19s, respectively. Notably, these achievements remain unbroken to this date.

During an appearance on "The Powells" podcast, Asafa Powell mentioned that building rivalries was challenging earlier, which has become easier now due to the ease of gaining popularity because of social media.

“It's easier [about popularity] because it's social media," Greene said (starting at 22:16). "I think a lot of them are getting caught up into this social media and not putting enough into their training and everything else. Now, okay I've always said as time progresses, man progresses, technology progresses, people get faster.

"With the technology and the shoes that they got now and the tracks that they running on there, there's no way in the world you couldn't tell me they shouldn't have ran faster than they did last night. If that was me, I probably would have run 9.50 seconds or something on this track."

He attributed social media as the reason behind athletes' not achieving faster times and not being able to break Usain Bolt's record.

“They're so caught up into clicking this, getting this click, and not putting the focus into the progression of the race and trying to perfect your race. That's why I don't I don't think we've seen a progression since Usain Bolt,” he added.

Maurice Greene highlights need to believe in the impossible to break Usain Bolt's record

Maurice Greene. (Photo by Simon Bruty/Anychance/Getty Images)

Maurice Greene highlighted the youngsters' need to believe in the impossible to break Usain Bolt’s long-standing records.

“I mean, I never say anything is impossible. Even when I was competing, I was like it's always about breaking barriers,” the five time World Champion said in an interview with Citius Mag in May 2024 (2:51 onwards).

“It’s about believing that you can do something impossible or believing in yourself that you are capable of doing something. You just have to break everything down and really look at it and see how you can come about to try to achieve those numbers and if you can achieve and if you can do that, great. If you can't, just have fun trying."

Notably, Green is a two-time Olympic gold medalist, winning the 100m and contributing to the USA’s victory in the men’s 4x100m relay event at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

Additionally, he won two medals, including a silver in the 4x100m relay and a bronze in the 100m, at the 2004 Athens Olympics. He formerly held the 100m world record with a time of 9.79s.