Usain Bolt admits he's still 'very sad' that he never got to race against world record holder in his prime

Usain Bolt is still "very sad" that he never got to compete against a current world record holder who shocked the world at the Rio Olympics in 2016.

Bolt is widely regarded as one of the greatest athletes of all time. He still holds the world record for the men's 100m (9.58 seconds) and 200m (19.19 seconds) sprints, more than 15 years after coming up against the likes Tyson Gay. Justin Gatlin and Yohan Blake.

The eight-time Olympic gold medalist went toe-to-toe with some of the greats, but looking back on his career, the 38-year-old regrets missing the chance to compete against 400m world record holder Wayde van Niekerk.

van Niekerk memorably shattered Michael Johnson's 17-year-old 400m world record after finishing the Rio Olympics final in 43.03 seconds.

And days later, Bolt challenged the South African athlete to a 300m race. “Three hundred metres - that would be a good race,” the Jamaican said. “I’d really like to compete against him over 300m. Hopefully next season if he’s in good shape.”

After becoming the only man in history to break 10 seconds for the 100m (9.98), 20 seconds for the 200 (19.94) and 44 for the 400, Bolt added: “He’s got speed and strength. I’m very happy for him. He did extremely well.”

Unfortunately, the race never happened, which still irks Bolt to this day.

Speaking on PUMA's official YouTube channel, as per PulseSports, the 100m record holder said: "I'm very sad that I didn't get to compete against [Wayde] van Niekerk."

He added: "We wanted to do a race, and I was not fit enough. I wish I were fit enough to compete against him. Not just because he's a world record holder. To run a race with him.... who would be the best? It would have been great to compete.”

Bolt added that if he were to go back in time, he would also have loved to compete against Michael Johnson, as well as the 1976 Olympic 200m champion Don Quarrie.

Bolt at the Rio Olympics in 2016. Image credit: Getty

Usain Bolt told one of his biggest rivals that he was "the only man in the world" who could beat him in a race

Back in 2008, Bolt told fellow Jamaican sprinter Asafa Powell that he was "the only man in the world" who could beat him after previously setting the 100m world record on two occasions with times of 9.77 and 9.74 seconds.

Speaking to The Guardian back in 2011, Powell opened up on the conversations he supposedly had with Bolt.

"I think in the entire world I'm the only person that has always scared him [Bolt]," Powell said. "He's always been telling me that over the years. I get the truth out of him when he drinks a bit. He gets a bit tipsy and he's like [adopts a slurring voice]: 'Asafa, you're the only man in the world I think can beat me.'"

Powell added: "He first told me that in 2008... just before the Olympics. He'd just run 9.72. He said: 'You're the only man in the world who I think can beat me.'"

So how did Powell respond to such a compliment? "I was like, in my head: 'I know that' but you know I really have a lot of respect for him and he has a lot of respect for me as well," he said.

"So for him to really come to me and tell me that I was the one who motivated him to start running the 100m and that he respects me a lot – he always tells me that – I have a lot of respect for him."