Asafa Powell Says Usain Bolt’s 100m World Record Will Stand for a Long Time

• Usain Bolt's 100m and 200m records have stood for 15 years
• Noah Lyles has said it is his goal to break those milestones
• Asafa Powell believes one of Bolt's records will be broken

In the last few weeks, there have been discussions in the track and field world about Usain Bolt's 100m and 200m world records and whether someone will break them soon.

The records have stood for 15 years, and few athletes have come close to matching or breaking them.

Former world record holder and Bolt's Jamaican compatriot, Asafa Powell, feels his 100m record will soon be broken, however.

Powell was the sprint king before Bolt came along in the mid-2000s. The 41-year-old broke the world record twice in 2005 and 2007.

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He clocked 9.77 seconds in 2005 before lowering the record to 9.74 in 2007, a year before the sprint icon hit the scene.

In 2008, Bolt broke the 100m world record twice in four months. He lowered Powell's record to 9.72 before winning gold in 9.69 seconds at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

Bolt then went on a historic run in 2009, smashing the 100m and 200m world records that still stand today, per World Athletics.

Bolt obliterated both records by ridiculous margins at the 2009 World Athletics Championships in Berlin.

In the 100m, he destroyed the field, which had Tyson Gay, to win gold in 9.58 seconds. He then comfortably won gold in the 200m in 19.19 seconds.

No other athlete has run under 9.6 seconds in the 100m and 19.20 seconds in the 200m. Noah Lyles came close (19.31) to matching his Olympic record (19.30) in the 200m in 2022 but fell short.

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In the 100m, only two other athletes have run under 9.7 seconds. Yohan Blake and Gay's personal best is 9.69 seconds.

Powell on Bolt's world records

The legendary sprinter said Bolt's 200m world record could be broken sooner compared to the 100m.

"The only record I see possibly someone going close to is maybe the 200m… I personally think Usain could have run faster in the 200m. In the 100m, that’s it. 9.58 is going to be there for a very, very, very long time," he told Citius Mag.

Lyles won the 100m world title last year and could only register a time of 9.83 seconds. Olympic champion, Lamont Marcell Jacobs, clocked 9.80 seconds to win gold in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Lyles is the favourite to win the favourite to win gold at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Fred Kerley, Christian Coleman, and Oblique Seville are other top contenders.

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Bolt's message to Lyles

Sports Brief earlier reported on Bolt sending a message to Lyles ahead of a busy track and field season, culminating with the Olympic Games.

The outspoken American dominated the men's sprint races in 2023 and has never hidden his ambition to break Bolt's long-standing records.