Anne fraser

Mexico City Games: Usain Bolt believes he could have clocked an astonishing 9.42 seconds in the 100 metres if he had access to today’s advanced carbon-plated "super-spikes".

The Jamaican sprint legend set his iconic 9.58-second world record at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, breaking his previous best of 9.69 from the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Remarkably, his record has now stood for 16 years – surpassing the 14-year reign of Jim Hines’s 9.95 mark, set at the 1968 Mexico City Games.

Research conducted by Puma – the brand that outfitted Bolt during his legendary career – suggests he could have run the 100 metres in 9.42 seconds using today’s high-tech sprinting shoes. Speaking ahead of the World Championships in Tokyo, Bolt backed the claim, saying, "I fully agree."