Usain Bolt Claims Cristiano Ronaldo Would Beat Him in Straight Foot Race
By Max Cooper
Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt has claimed that Juventus star and 'super-athlete' Cristiano Ronaldo would now beat him in a 100m sprint, due to his relentless pursuit of physical perfection.
The 34-year-old Olympian holds the world record for the quickest time in the 100m, 200m and 4X100m sprints, and retired with a plethora of gold medals in 2017. But even with all his records safely secured in the history books, the sporting legend still believes there is one man who could outdo him in a straight race.
While speaking to Spanish outlet Marca, Bolt revealed that he thinks Juve forward Ronaldo would defeat him in a foot race, because of his tireless dedication and focus.
“For sure Cristiano Ronaldo. He works out every day, he is a super-athlete," Bolt explained.
“He is always at the top of his sport. He works very hard and is always focused. I think right now he would definitely be faster than me.”
High praise, indeed. However, Ronaldo has previously been put to the test in this field, when he clocked a distance of 92 metres over a 10 second sprint. Not quite on a par with Bolt's record-holding 100m performance back in 2009, when he achieved a time of 9.58 seconds at the IAAF World Championships.
Plenty of work to be done for Ronaldo on that front, then. However, against a now retired Bolt, the Portuguese superstar might just stand a chance. The Jamaican sprinter has also turned his hand to football in recent years, taking to the field for Australian side Central Coast Mariners.
However, his football career did not go quite as successfully as his track success, and he believes that had he had a crack with a European club first, he would have achieved much more in the sport.
"Personally I think that if I had stayed in Europe I would have achieved it and it would have been better,” he said.
"My thinking when going to Australia was to be away from the media, away from everyone. It was going to help me to be away from the media, with less pressure.
“But it didn't work out the way I thought. I think if I had stayed in Europe I would have had a lot more help. It would have lasted longer and would have been more successful."
That's two sports the Juve star could beat him in, then.