Usain Bolt and Noah Lyles — Usain Bolt (L), Noah Lyles (Images: All from Getty)

"Noah Lyles is good, but he's not that good" - Usain Bolt weighs in on the American potentially breaking his 15-year-old 100m world record

Modified Aug 02, 2024 10:19 GMT

Usain Bolt believes that his 100m world record is not under threat, remarking that the reigning 100m world champion Noah Lyles is "not that good." Lyles is set to hit the track at the 2024 Paris Olympics, aiming to finish on top in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay.

A retired Jamaican track athlete, Bolt etched his name in track history as the greatest sprinter with three world records, in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay. Although he drew the curtain on his professional career in 2008, his impact still reverberates as his 9.58-second 100m sprint stands unsurpassed after 15 years. Athletes continue to aim for that feat.

By clocking 9.69s, US sprinter Tyson Gay and Jamaican athlete Yohan Blake have come closest to lowering the record time. Thus, Lyles' 100m personal best time of 9.83s still needs polishing to get closer to breaking Bolt's record.

In an interview ahead of the Paris Olympics, Bolt said that he didn't see Lyles as a contender to break the world record during the Olympics. However, highlighting Lyles' potential, the retired track icon praised the American's performances and said (via talkSport):

"He's good but he's not that good at the level, yet. I think he will get better over the years. So, the fact that he is winning now is crazy. One thing I respect about Lyles is his confidence. That's the thing he has over most of these athletes. Last year, he wasn't supposed to win the 100m, but he has the confidence that he's going to win. The others guys are going in there fearing him."

Usain Bolt's coach thought that he could have clocked even better times

Usain Bolt at Beijing 2008 in an image from the book "In The Moment' by Tom Jenkins - Getty Images

Usain Bolt also shared in an interview that he always liked to balance his career and personal life, which allowed him to take breaks from the track and "be human." This mindset was not appreciated by his coach, who believed that Bolt could clock better timings.

Bolt said (via talk Sport):

"I was never the type of person who could go 100 per cent and train all year. I was never that person. I needed breaks to have fun and go and relax, then come back to track and field. My coach hated it, but he understood it. I needed to take time off to go and be a human. But we understood each other."

The men's 100m preliminary round at the 2024 Paris Olympics will kick off on August 3, 2024.