Usain Bolt’s iconic 100m world record of 9.58 seconds has stood as one of athletics’ most untouchable milestones for nearly 17 years.
Set at the 2009 World Athletics Championships in Berlin, the mark has become synonymous with sprinting excellence.
Yet, despite no clean athlete coming remotely close to it, Bolt’s record is once again under discussion — not because of traditional competition, but due to a controversial new sporting venture.
The longevity of Usain Bolt’s unmatched feat
Bolt’s 9.58 shattered his own previous world record of 9.69, which he clocked in the Olympic final. Since then, no sprinter has seriously threatened either his 100m or 200m world record of 19.19.
Even in 2025, the fastest man in the world, Kishane Thompson, managed a best of 9.75 — still a significant distance from Bolt’s benchmark.
Jamaican sprinter Oblique Seville, whom Bolt himself has previously tipped as a potential successor, ran a personal best of 9.77 to win the 100m final at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
While impressive, it further underlined just how far ahead Usain Bolt’s record remains in the clean era.
A new and controversial threat emerges
The real danger to Bolt’s record may come from outside the traditional athletics ecosystem. The proposed Enhanced Games, scheduled for June 2026, have reignited debate around the future of world records.
The multi-sport event, backed by Australian businessman Aron D’Souza, allows athletes to use performance-enhancing substances without undergoing drug testing.
British sprinter Reece Prescod, who retired in 2024, has already signed up. While his personal best of 9.93 suggests he is unlikely to challenge Usain Bolt’s record, the event’s open stance on doping has raised alarm bells across the sporting world.
Fred Kerley and the $1 Million incentive
One name that has drawn particular attention is American sprinter Fred Kerley. The Olympic silver medallist from Tokyo 2020 and bronze medallist at Paris 2024 boasts a personal best of 9.76.
Enhanced Games organisers have reportedly offered Kerley a $1 million prize if he can break Usain Bolt’s 9.58, according to BBC Sport.
Although any such performance would not be recognised by World Athletics, the mere possibility of the record being surpassed — even unofficially — has unsettled purists.
Strong pushback from governing bodies
World Athletics has made it clear that performances at the Enhanced Games will not enter the official record books. Meanwhile, opposition from anti-doping authorities has been fierce.
UK Anti-Doping labelled the event a “reckless venture” that could “damage the integrity of world sport irrevocably.”
In August, the World Anti-Doping Agency reinforced its stance, stating it “stands by the firm position it has taken against this ill-conceived event,” while warning that performance-enhancing drugs have had a severe physical and mental toll on athletes, adding bluntly: “People have died.”