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Usain Bolt once revealed that a fellow Jamaican sprinter was the only man he believed could beat him, highlighting their mutual respect and how this rivalry motivated his legendary sprinting career.
Multiple Olympic champion Usain Bolt is often regarded as the fastest man in history and his dominance on the track has cemented his place as one of the greatest athletes of all time.
Bolt still holds the world records for both the 100 meters (9.58 seconds) and the 200 meters (19.19 seconds), achievements that remain unbeaten more than 15 years after they were set.
But despite his supremacy on the track, Bolt once admitted there was a fellow sprinter who could beat him.
In 2008, as Bolt prepared for his first Olympic Games in Beijing, he confided in one of his biggest rivals: fellow Jamaican sprinter Asafa Powell.
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Powell, a former 100-meter world record holder himself, recalled the surprising conversation he had with Bolt, sharing the moment in an interview with The Guardian in 2011.
"I think in the entire world I'm the only person that has always scared him," Powell revealed.
"He's always been telling me that over the years. I get the truth out of him when he drinks a bit. He gets a bit tipsy and he's like [adopts a slurring voice]: 'Asafa, you're the only man in the world I think can beat me.'
Powell went on to say that Bolt first made the statement in 2008, just before the Beijing Olympics, when Bolt was on the cusp of his legendary career.
At the time, Bolt had already begun to dazzle the world, having just run a blistering 9.72 seconds in the 100 meters, but he still held deep respect and admiration for Powell.
"He first told me that in 2008... just before the Olympics," Powell said.
"He'd just run 9.72. He said: 'You're the only man in the world who I think can beat me.'"
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For Powell, hearing such a compliment from the world’s fastest man was both humbling and validating.
While he acknowledged the mutual respect they shared, he also recognized his own potential to challenge Bolt at the height of his career.
"I was like, in my head: 'I know that,'" Powell recalled with a chuckle.
"But you know I really have a lot of respect for him, and he has a lot of respect for me as well."
The relationship between Bolt and Powell was one of camaraderie and mutual inspiration.
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According to Powell, Bolt credited him with motivating him to pursue the 100 meters seriously, a decision that would ultimately lead to Bolt’s record-breaking performances on the global stage.
"For him to really come to me and tell me that I was the one who motivated him to start running the 100m and that he respects me a lot – he always tells me that – I have a lot of respect for him," Powell said.
Despite Bolt’s high regard for Powell, it was another athlete who Bolt named as his toughest opponent.
During a 2023 appearance on The Obi One Podcast Bolt singled out American sprinter Justin Gatlin as his most formidable rival.
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For Bolt, Gatlin’s determination and mental toughness were what set him apart, especially during the latter part of Bolt’s career.
"The last five years of my career, maybe five, six years, it was just me and him, every season, and he kept me on my toes," Bolt said.
"And I love the competition."
While Bolt went on to beat Gatlin in the 2016 Rio Olympics, Gatlin famously got the better of his Jamaican rival a year later at the 2017 IAAF World Championships, taking the gold medal in the 100 meters in a race that shocked the world.
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