Usain Bolt Aims Subtle Dig at Noah Lyles as True Feelings on US Star Revealed

Usain Bolt has aimed a subtle dig at Noah Lyles as his true feelings on the US star are revealed.

The World Athletics Championships get underway on 13 September in Tokyo, running through to 21 September.

After the closest 100m final in Olympic history last summer, fans will be eager to see if Lyles can retain his world championship title.

Having edged out Kishane Thompson for gold in Paris, the Jamaican arrives in Japan as the favourite, having set a personal best of 9.75 seconds earlier this year. But neither Lyles nor Thompson have come close to eclipsing Bolt's legendary mark of 9.58 seconds that he set back in 2009.

And the Jamaican legend said he is not worried about any of the current sprinting stars breaking his record.

Noah Lyles won Olympic gold in Paris. Image: Hannah Peters / Staff via Getty

He said: "I think the talent is there and those who are coming up will do well but, at this present moment, I don't think they will be able to break the world record."

Research by Puma, who sponsored Bolt throughout his career, predicted that he would have gone even quicker in the modern-day carbon-plated 'super spikes'.

They suggested he would have dipped under 9.5 seconds, potentially clocking 9.42s for 100m.

When asked about whether he thought that was possible, Bolt replied: "I fully agree.

"Someone who continued after I retired was Shelly-Anne Fraser-Pryce and I saw what she did - she got faster with the spikes.

"I probably would have run way faster if I'd continued.

"And if I knew that spikes would have got to that level maybe I would have, because it would have been great to compete at that level and running that fast."

Usain Bolt at a Diamond League meet. Image: Maja Hitij / Staff via Getty

Bolt and Lyles have had a social media spat in the past.

The American sprint star once said, "Usain Bolt, who?", which antagonised the Jamaican sensation.

On the Ready, Set, Go podcast earlier this year, the 39-year-old shared his thoughts on the incident with his former sprinting rival Justin Gatlin.

Bolt said: "I remember when he [Lyles] just came out and he said, 'Usain Bolt who?', I was like, 'Bro, stop it,'"

"I normally don't say anything, but I was like, 'if you don't know who Usain Bolt is you're in the wrong sport.'

"So stop acting. Put some respect on my name. Every time he talks he says he wants to break my record, so stop it."

As the World Championships approach, fans will be paying close attention to see if anyone can come close to Bolt's world record.