'Only man who could beat Usain Bolt' - Jamaican legend's massive statement revisited

Usain Bolt has the world record for the fastest sprint in the 100m and 200m races. The star athlete is the only sprinter to have claimed a hat-trick of gold medals at the Olympics. While his accolades are second to none, the Jamaican believed one athlete was capable of beating him. It was none other than his own teammate Asafa Powell.

The athlete from Jamaica held the world record for the fastest sprint in the 100m distance from 2005 to 2009 with a timing of 9.77 seconds. It took 4 years for Bolt to break it at the World Championship in 2009. However, even after breaking the world record, Usain was concerned about Asafa overcoming him. The Jamaican had said the same in an old interview.

"I think in the entire world I'm the only person that has always scared him. He's always been telling me that over the years," said Powell in an interview in 2011. At the time, Asafa had clocked a timing of 9.78 seconds, which was better than Bolt's by a tenth of a second.

'You're the only man in the world who I think can beat me' - Usain Bolt's take on Asafa Powell

Powell revealed that Usain used to let him know of his opinions when he was drunk. Powell revealed that the legendary sprinter claimed the former world record holder to be capable of beating him. "I get the truth out of him when he drinks a bit. He gets a bit tipsy and he's like, 'Asafa, you're the only man in the world I think can beat me'," added Powell.

Many fastest sprinters like Tyson Gay, Justin Gatlin, Yohan Blake, and others were in the same time as that of Bolt. However, he believed only Powell was capable of beating him. Asafa said that even after Bolt ran a record time of 9.72 seconds at the World Championship, he still had the fear.

"He first told me that in 2008. After [the record-breaking sprint]. Just before the Olympics. He'd just run 9.72. And he said, 'You're the only man in the world who I think can beat me'," Powell said.