Usain Bolt, the retired Jamaican sprint legend whose world record in the 100m is 9.58 seconds (set in Berlin in 2009), says that with today’s advanced footwear—carbon-plated “super-spikes”—he believes he could have run 9.42 seconds.
The claim comes ahead of the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, during a Puma event. Bolt expressed full agreement with research by Puma suggesting such a time.
He referenced other athletes who have improved with the newer spikes, especially Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, as evidence of how much performance gains can be attributed to technology. Though he has not actually tried the super-spikes himself, in part because he does not want to risk a hamstring injury.
Bolt’s 9.58s record has stood for 16 years (as of 2025) and remains one of the most enduring records in athletics.
While he believes the technology could have enabled a faster time, he is cautious about the prospect of his record being broken soon. He says that although there is talent among current sprinters, none seem quite ready to surpass him yet.
He cited Jamaican sprinters Kishane Thompson (who recently clocked 9.75s, the fastest in about a decade) and Oblique Seville among those with potential, but felt that breaking Bolt’s record would require everything to align perfectly.
What are “super-spikes” and how might they help
Super-spikes are footwear equipped with carbon plates and more advanced foam or cushioning technology (“bouncy foam”), which contribute to improved energy return and reduced energy loss in sprinting. These features were not part of the spikes Bolt used in 2009.
The research mentioned was led by Puma, which evaluated how much faster Bolt could be with modern spikes. The estimate of 9.42s is about 0.16 seconds faster than his existing world record.
