3D simulation shows what would happen in 100m race between Usain Bolt and fastest Asian sprinter ever
A 3D simulation has shown exactly what would happen in a 100-metre race between Usain Bolt and the fastest Asian sprinter of all time.
Jamaica's Bolt holds the 100m world record of 9.58, set at the 2009 World Athletics Championships in Berlin.
As a nation, Jamaica are one of the most successful ever to compete in the 100 metres at the Olympics, with the United States ahead of them on 25 gold medals won across men's and women's races.
Asian countries now routinely feature near the top of medal tables across every event at the Olympics, with China topping the table in 2008 and doing so again, jointly with the USA, at Paris 2024.
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Japan and South Korea finished fourth and eighth respectively in Paris, winning a total of 77 medals between them.
But the continent as a whole does not have a particularly strong history in individual sprinting, with only one Asian sprinter featuring in the last five Olympic men's 100m finals and none in the women's.
The fastest man in the history of Asian athletics is China's Su Bingtian, who is the only Asian runner ever to break the 10-second barrier over 100 metres.
He reached the final in Tokyo 2020 aged 31, and ran a time of 9.98 seconds to finish in sixth position.
In the semi-final, though, he smashed the Asian record, running 9.83 and winning the race with a tailwind of +0.9m/s.
But how would that time compare to Bolt's 9.58 world record?
Su, standing at 5ft 8in, gets off to a better start than the 6ft 5in Bolt, and leads the Jamaican over the first 30 metres as both men hit their strides.
In fact, it takes around seven seconds for Bolt to even draw level with his rival - but he then makes the final 15 to 20 metres count and sprints away with ease.
Take a look at the simulation, posted by YouTube channel MotionAthlete, below
The reason behind Su's electric start in his record run is a fascinating one.
The Chinese sprinter decided back in 2014 to change the foot in which he launched with after consulting with experts.
That decision was made two years after Su faced Bolt in a 100-metre heat at London 2012, during which he spotted that he needed to change his strategy after the Jamaican sprinted away past the 20-metre point.
He said: "When I reached 28 [in 2017], I knew I could still run. In the 100-metre races, when you reach a certain level, you would find that running is not only about the body, but more importantly about the techniques.
"It [the foot change] was like you were used to eating with your right hand, and now you wanted to use the left one," he told Tencent Sports. "You could not even pick up anything."
Topics: Usain Bolt, Athletics, Jamaica
Ryan Smart