While this headline sounds like something you and your (probably the less ‘cultural’ and more ‘sports-focused’) mates might discuss in bar during the smaller hours of the morning – we can’t say that we aren’t intrigued. And, apparently, so is everyone else including both football megastar Kylian Mbappé and Olympic icon Usain Bolt who have reportedly agreed to race each other in a 100m sprint.
The origin of this glorious spectacle came after a PSG match where Mbappé was clocked at running an estimated 10.90 seconds over 100 meters. This sparked a wild conversation online, which eventually found its way to the world’s fastest man, Bolt.
When asked, the eight-time Olympic gold medalist commented in an interview praising Mbappé as a player and mentioned that the rapid PSG striker should line-up against him in a charity race.
It was a suggestion that was first made lightheartedly, until this week, when Mbappé responded at event organised by his foundation Inspired By KM and Nike, saying that he shared admiration for the Jamaican, and would be interested in racing him, but didn’t think he had “much of a chance.”
“Knowing that I inspire someone like that is really gratifying,” said Mbappé of his praise from Bolt. “I think he inspired everyone a little bit too and every one of you in this room has gotten up in the middle of the night to watch one of his races. It’s mutual! But I started admiring him first.”
Now there’s no doubting that Mbappé is lighting quick – we’ve seen it – however, Usain Bolt is still officially the fastest human to have ever lived. Not only is the Jamaican icon the only sprinter to win Olympic 100m and 200m titles at three consecutive Olympics, but he still holds the World Records across both distances.
But that said, the sprinter retired in 2017, and despite a career already filled with accolades – Kylian Mbappé is still only 25 years old(!). We’re not saying who we think if they were to race, but we are definitely saying that we’ll be tuning in.