"In 200m, Usain Bolt could have gone 18 seconds"- Asafa Powell believes world record holder was capable of running faster

Fresh off his 100m world record break in 9.58s at the 2009 World Athletics Championships, Usain Bolt set the 200m world record in 19.19s at the same event. However, legendary retired Jamaican track athlete Asafa Powell thinks that the 200m time could have been less.

Bolt has earned the status of the greatest track and field athlete in history with 23 gold medals across all major events. He has eight Olympic medals in his purse and 11 World Champion titles.

However, before he rose to fame and captured hearts and titles alike, Jamaican sprinter Asafa Powell had already broken 100m world records twice in 2005 and 2008. Powell's leading times were 9.77s and 9.74s, respectively. But Bolt's 9.58s was lower than Powell's record-breaking seconds.

For a record 98 times, Powell has broken the 10-second barrier in the 100m, the only athlete with this achievement. He was a part of the 4x100m relay team at the 2016 Rio Olympics, alongside Bolt.

Having seen him perform up close, Powell thinks that Usain Bolt could have lowered his 19.19 record time in the 200m. In an interview with Athletics Weekly, he said that breaking the 200m would be easier than 100m.

"In 200, I think Usain could have gone a lot faster if he had gone back. I think he could have gone 18 seconds and then you know it would be similar to the 9.5 because if you calculate I think he could have gone 19.0. So, for sure the 200m is the easiest one to challenge."

But according to his statement, the 100m feat is nothing less than phenomenal.

"But the100m, no (chuckles confidently)"

Usain Bolt also thinks that his 100m time is hard to break

In a recent interview with World Athletics, Usain Bolt proved that he shares the same mindset as Powell's. He also thinks that his 200m time could easily be lowered.

"“I think the hundred is going to be harder because its quicker, and if you make a mistake during the race, you are not gonna get it. So it’s a lot more technical; so I believe the hundred metres is gonna go last."

In the intervie, he also recalled the time when his back-to-back record breaks in the 100m and 200m wasn't favorable to coach Glen Mills. Accordingly to the latter, the Olympian could have run faster.

"you can’t. You could have gone faster if you had just focussed on getting to the line," Bolt recounted Gills' words.