Categories: AthleticsSports

Johnson: I would’ve beaten Usain Bolt

Former 200m world record holder Michael Johnson is confident that he would win a race between himself and reigning world’s fastest man Usain Bolt over the distance.

Johnson, who still holds the 400m world record, was the holder of the 200m world record of 19.32 for 12 years until Bolt erased the mark in 2008.  Bolt’s new mark of 19.30 only stood for a year, however, as the Jamaican obliterated his own mark one year later in Berlin.

Michael Johnson says he would have beaten Usain Bolt in the 200 in his prime.

The incredible record, .13 seconds lower than Johnson’s mark, has stood at 19.19 ever since.

The sprinter has in addition recorded five of the 10 fastest times over the distance.  A jovial Johnson, a prominent supporter of the Jamaican sprint star, nonetheless backed himself to triumph in a meeting between the athletes in their prime.

“I win that race every day,” Johnson told US television programme TODAY.

“Every time we line up, I win that race, guaranteed.”

Johnson, regarded as one of the sport’s best ever sprinters, has a career haul of four Olympic gold medals and eight World Championship gold medals.  At the Rio Olympic Games this summer Bolt will look to be the first man to win three consecutive sprint triples in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relays.

Barbados Today

Barbados Today is the leading news service in Barbados. Founded in January 2010, with the mission to keep you informed, we aim to share news on matters of national interest, raise the level of public debate and help our readers make informed decisions in their daily lives. We do this by building confidence in our content through consistency. We strive for accuracy, accountability and maturity in our reporting at all times.

View Comments

  • Modern technology has a way of putting you in a race with Usain Bolt. To tell the truth, I really love you Mr. Golden Shoes Johnson. You had one of the classiest and so easy way of running it really had my mouth watering. Such a darn sexy man. However, base on the times, I really do not think you would win against Bolt. You might have tested him, but such a test might only have gotten him angry causing to run under 19 seconds.

  • Modern technology has a way of putting you in a race with Usain Bolt. To tell the truth, I really love you Mr. Golden Shoes Johnson. You had one of the classiest and so easy way of running it really had my mouth watering. Such a darn sexy man. However, base on the times, I really do not think you would win against Bolt. You might have tested him, but such a test might only have gotten him angry causing to run under 19 seconds.

  • OH, PUH-LEASE! You can never mess with a Jamaican warrior like Usain because he will strike you down with a Bolt of lightning. So have several seats.

  • OH, PUH-LEASE! You can never mess with a Jamaican warrior like Usain because he will strike you down with a Bolt of lightning. So have several seats.

Recent Posts

Pedestrian injured in accident along Black Rock Main Road

A pedestrian suffered serious injuries in a collision with a car along  Black Rock Main Road, between the area of …

3 hours ago

Stuck with bad EPA

I wanted to write about Christmas gifts today, but something horrendous happened last week.  So, I must combine both issues.…

4 hours ago

My journey South (Part 1) . . . Tracing developments on Artificial Intelligence in Latin America and the Caribbean

by Chelceé Brathwaite While some still consider Artificial Intelligence (AI) to be beyond the grasp of developing countries, our South…

4 hours ago

Judge suggests parties talk

Go back to the negotiating table and try one more time to work things out. This was the advice of…

4 hours ago

Serious health and safety violations at Liquidation Centre

Liquidation Centre was a vermin-infested former warehouse store that no fewer than four Government agencies have condemned as a fire…

4 hours ago

RSS peacekeepers as pre-election unrest builds

Barbadian troops and police officers under the command of the Regional Security System (RSS) were tonight preparing to be deployed…

4 hours ago