The record had been slowly inching it’s way down from ever since Carl Lewis‘ 9.92 in Seoul in 1998. Second by second, slowly but surely, and scientists in white lab coats were telling everyone that the limit of human speed was on a curve that would slow down year on year.

But then Usain Bolt happened.

He’s lowered the mark by as much in three years that it took the rest of the sprinting world 40 years. Jim Hines was the first under 10 seconds in 1968 and Asafa Powell did 9.77 in 2006. I’ve just seen Bolt do 9.58. Incredible!

Who knows how fast or how far he can lower the mark. 9.4? 9.3?

I’m sure that there is a physical limit to how fast humans can run. It seems that the top speed for a cheetah can be defined as 68 mph and an emu at 31ph, but then cheetah’s don’t have the benefit of track spikes, coaches and a dietary plan designed for speed.

Maybe if they did, cheetah’s would be bombing around faster than the TGV, but until then we’re left to speculate as to how far Bolt can lower the world record!

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