The Olympics year also hinted at a fresh football season, where the world will behold several footballers matching up to the speed of speedsters. Having said that, even though Kylian Mbappe’s speed strikes fear in the defenders’ hearts, he needs to toil to reach the virtuoso. Usain Bolt, the one standing with the 100m world record with a stunning time of 9.58s, has taken a jab at the French footballer.
This followed when BBC Sport ignited fury in the track world by comparing both the phenoms on grounds of speed. Mbappe’s 100m speed stands at 10.9s, which brought Bolt’s witticism to the fore. Let’s see what he said.
Usain Bolt leaves a witty remark on X
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The post of Athletics Weekly quoted the retired Olympian, who said, “I know I was laughing when I saw it. The girls are running faster than that [10.9].” For more context, AW has also left some more to give us a proper idea of the situation. “After chatting to @jumpers_world founder Andreas Trajkovski, Usain Bolt responds to posts that Kylian Mbappe’s 100m split of 10.9 was ‘just over a second slower than his world record'”. Though it sounds a little harsh on the surface, no track fan will disagree with the 8x Olympic gold medalist.
“I know I was laughing when I saw it. The girls are running faster than that [10.9].”
After chatting to @jumpers_world founder Andreas Trajkovski, Usain Bolt responds to posts that Kylian Mbappe’s 100m split of 10.9 was ‘just over a second slower than his world record’.
For… pic.twitter.com/eVIa6mYshn
— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) March 6, 2024
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Sha’Carri Richardson, the 2023 Budapest World Championships’ 100m title winner, clocked in at 10.65s to reign on top. The extraordinary feat secured her a place among the four fastest women in history. So, for Bolt to leave such a comment, was nothing out of the blue. 10.9s clocked by Kylian Mbappe placed him outside the top 5000 in the 2023 WA men’s ranking. In the bigger picture, there are other NFL players like Tyreek Hill and Xavier Worthy making strides in the track world, which could actually pose a serious threat. But will the France national team captain achieve the impossible anytime soon?
Mbappe on his way to the top
Keeping aside hateful comments, the 25-year-old resonates in the football domain. That’s because he has shown significant strides as a forward. The Champions League match against Real Sociedad witnessed the most expensive teenage player blaze past the others in a thrilling bout. This little spectacle was enough for the world to raise questions and state things.
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Amid the controversies, critics were arguing that football encompasses dribbling and running hand-in-hand while sprinting allows maximum acceleration. Despite the world already going in splits, there’s nobody in the athletic realm who came anywhere near to the track stalwart.
READ MORE: Did Xavier Worthy Beat World’s Fastest Usain Bolt’s Record in 40m Dash?