Most Olympic gold medallists would put their achievements down to hours of gruelling hard work and dedication.

And while this is surely the case too for Usain Bolt, the fastest man of all time has revealed that he never pushed himself more than what was necessary in order to soar to his incredible heights.

Bolt’s speed over shorter distances is unmatched, but he may not fare so well in a longer raceGetty

The athletics legend is an eight-time Olympic gold medallist, and his world record 100m and 200m times have remained untouched since he set them both at the 2009 World Championships.

Despite his dominance in the sprinting disciplines however, Bolt may not fancy his chances over slightly longer distances.

That’s if his comments in a video shared on social media are anything to go by, where the Olympics hero revealed that he never tested his endurance throughout his illustrious career.

In a vox-pop like interview uploaded on TikTok in March, Bolt was asked if he ever ran a 5k or 10k during his ‘easy days’, presumably those with less intense training sessions.

The now 38-year-old appeared amused, shaking his head and saying: “No, no.”

The interviewer then asked: “You’ve never run a lap,” to which the Jamaican responded by continually shaking his head

He then revealed the furthest he had pushed himself: “I ran a 800 [metres].”

When quizzed again on his aversion to running laps, the former sprinter looked puzzled and reiterated: “Nah. I don’t do laps.”

While many would expect someone with Bolt’s supreme athleticism to have tried his hand at nearly all running events, in reality it would have made little sense for him to undertake such training.

With sprinters relying on explosiveness and power to cross the finish line first, the three-time 100m and 200m Olympic gold medallist will have spent much more time in the gym than circling an athletics track for large amounts of time.

Credit: TikTok: @DomvcThe athletics legend admitted he stuck strictly to sprinting throughout his career[/caption]

This strategy clearly did him no harm, as he holds world records in each of his disciplinesGetty

But this truth did not stop fans from excitedly speculating that they could have the beating of Bolt over a longer distance, given his lack of experience.

One commented: “Gives me hope that I’d smash Usain Bolt in a 10k+ race.”

Another said: “Fastest man alive. I think I can take Bolt in the 10k!”

On his refusal to run any more than necessary, a sympathetic user joked: “Usain and I actually have a lot in common in that way.”

These comments will be of little concern to the great man himself, who even ruled out competing in the 400m event early on his career due to the training demands.

After claiming 100m and 200m gold at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, setting new world records in both for the first time along the way, Bolt was tipped to extend his repertoire to the longer sprint.

However, he quickly ruled this out, saying in 2010: “I don’t want to do 400m. A lot of people want me to but I don’t want to do it. But if I have to do it, I guess I will do it.

“If it takes that for me to become a legend in the sport I guess I will but otherwise I wouldn’t want to do it.”

When asked what put him off running the 400, he replied: “Training. It’s very hard.”

Bolt then went on to successfully defend both Olympic titles at London 2012 and Rio 2016, as well as back-to-back 4 x 100m relay golds in the two Games.

With his achievements leaving him widely regarded as the greatest sprinter of all time, it is fair to say that the Jamaican star’s refusal to run laps did not hamper his career in any way.