Usain Bolt Reveals the South African Sprinter He Regrets Never Competing Against

Usain Bolt is the greatest track athlete in history

Usain Bolt Reveals the South African Sprinter He Regrets Never Competing Against

Abigael Wafula 02:35 - 01.05.2025

Usain Bolt has opened up about the one South African sprinter he wishes he had the chance to compete against during his prime, expressing regret that the race never happened.

Usain Bolt has opened up about the one South African sprinter he wanted to run against but never got the chance.

The legendary Jamaican sprinter dominated the track during his time as an athlete, but upon hanging up his spikes, he regrets never having an opportunity to compete against 400m world record holder Wayde van Niekerk.

Usain Bolt revealed that they had planned to compete in a 200m race but when the time came, he was not in great shape and therefore could not show up.

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The 11-time world champion noted that he was obsessed with competing against the 2016 Rio Olympic Games 400m champion, and if he had been fit at the time, he wanted to see how the race would turn out.

At the time, both Usain Bolt and Wayde van Niekerk were high-profile athletes, and the South African had just broken the 400m world record.

Usain Bolt added that if he were to go back to the sport, he would also have loved to compete against American sprint legend Michael Johnson and the 1976 Olympic 200m champion Don Quarrie.

“It would definitely be Michael Johnson, and Don Quarrie, and I'm very sad that I didn't get to compete against van Niekerk. We wanted to do a 200m race, and I was not fit enough,” Usain Bolt said in an interview shared on PUMA’s YouTube Channel.

“And I was like, that's one thing, you know what? I wish I were fit enough to compete against him. Not just because he's a world record holder. And I was like, you know what? To run a 200-meter race with him. Who would be the best? It would have been great to compete.”

Usain Bolt may have retired as the greatest sprinter of all time, but the missed opportunity to face Wayde van Niekerk on the track remains one of his few lingering regrets.

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