Usain Bolt quickly shut down any assertions that last year’s Olympic 100 metres final was superior to the 2012 edition.
Bolt won the second of his three consecutive 100m finals in London, blowing away a star-studded line-up in the process.
Few events have attracted such attention since the 2012 final until last year’s blockbuster race in Paris.
Noah Lyles was victorious at the Stade de France, picking up his first Olympic gold medal in style ahead of Kishane Thompson and Fred Kurley.
The American recorded a winning time of 9.79sec in a race that has been labelled the fastest in history by average.
But Bolt categorically rebuffed the notion that last year’s race eclipsed the 2012 final during the Ready Set Go podcast.
Bolt joined former Bahamian sprinter Rodney Green and five-time Olympic gold medallist Justin Gatlin to discuss the then and now of sprinting.
First on the agenda was the epic 2012 final which saw Bolt see off Yohan Blake and Gatlin with sprint icons such as Asafa Powell, Tyson Gay and Kim Collins finishing further back.
“Do you guys really think the last 100m was the best one?,” Bolt asked. “I’m curious, do you really think so after what we performed in 2012?”
Green responded: “Asafa (Powell) throws the average off because he’s injured. If he doesn’t finish he’s okay but because he finishes in such a slow time because of his injury, it throws the average of that race off.”
Gatlin who took bronze in London also weighed in and used a couple of basketball legends to explain the enormity of the 2012 line-up.
“The line up in that race was unheard of. When you look at any other sport and the greatest of those sports NBA, NFL – they’re in generations. [Michael] Jordan didn’t play with LeBron [James] and Kobe [Bryant] played some with LeBron.
“But the fact of our line up is we were all in the same generation and we lined up at the same time.
“That was the most epic race when it came to legacy. Timewise, I can understand where you’re coming from when it comes to numbers but you won’t ever replicate that race ever again in life. The top five men in history were in that race.”
Bolt then pushed a little further in his assessment of the recent comparison between the races saying: “Nobody in that race (2024 final) would have gotten a medal (in the 2012 final).
Gatlin agreed with Bolt adding: “If I’d have lined up with them at that period of time, I would have won that.”
“Justin, they wouldn’t have caught you, they’d have been chasing tails,” Bolt responded as he continued to put his generation on the highest possible pedestal.
Reflecting on this London final, Bolt and Gatlin shared their own experiences of the memorable race which was the Jamaican record a winning time of 9.69sec.
ready set goBolt revealed his inner thoughts as he romped to victory in 2012[/caption]
ready set goGatlin shared his own experience of the race he was leading until the half-way point[/caption]
“In 2012, I was right beside him (Gatlin) when the gun went, he was one step ahead of me and I was like, how is this even possible,” Bolt recalled.
“It’s a good thing I’m mentally tough because if you’re not mentally tough, you see that your vibe is broken immediately.”
The American chimed in with his own account adding: “Going into 50 metres, I can see I’m leading and I’m already thinking about how I’m going to celebrate if I win this race.
“The next thing I see is black and green on my left and on my right and I’m like ‘woah hold on’ because this ain’t about to become a victory lap.”
Incredibly, Bolt admits he could have smashed his own world record time of 9.58sec had he have maintained his concentration throughout the race.
“I messed up because I really could have got the world record that day,” he revealed. “I tell you, I never think about world records but I was running and I looked across and was like, alright, I’ve got them. Then I thought ‘S***’, the world record, and I started leaning too early because as soon as it clicked and I looked at the clock and I was like, I’m so stupid.”
