Jamaican star smashes world best for first time in 32 years in event Usain Bolt couldn't conquer

A Jamaican sprinter lowered a 32-year-old world best that Usain Bolt never bettered during his illustrious career at the Miramar Invitational over the weekend.

On 4 April, Kishane Thompson, 24, ran 150 metres in 14.92 seconds in Florida, USA – the fastest any man has run the 150m on a circular track since Great Britain’s Linford Christie covered the distance in 14.97 seconds in 1996.

Thompson, who won silver in the 100m at the Paris Games, finishing behind America’s Noah Lyles by just 0.005 seconds, crossed the line ahead of Zimbabwean athlete Tapiwanashe Makarawu on Saturday. Makarawu also bettered Christie’s previous world best, recording a time of 14.96 seconds.

While Thompson now boasts the fastest time ever recorded on a 150-metre circular track, he will not hold the official world record, as faster times have previously been run on straight 150m tracks.

“It’s a nice little training run, nothing too hard,” Thompson said after the race. “I could have done a little more in the middle (of the race), but it was a solid run.”

The 150m is not an official championship distance and does not feature at the World Athletics Championships or the Olympic Games.

There is no record of eight-time Olympic gold medallist Bolt running the 150m on a circular track at a recognised event, meaning Thompson has achieved something his legendary counterpart did not.

However, Bolt ran the fastest time ever on a straight 150m track at the 2009 Manchester Street Games, clocking 14.35 seconds.

Thompson’s 100m personal best came at the 2025 Jamaican Athletics Championships, where he ran 9.75 seconds – the sixth fastest time ever.

Bolt has previously spoken highly of both Thompson and his fellow Jamaican Oblique Seville, but maintained that he was not worried about either of his countrymen breaking his long-standing 100m world record when he spoke at a Puma event last year.

The 39-year-old said: “I think the talent is there. There will be talented athletes coming up, and they will do well. But at this present moment, I don’t see any athlete able to break the record, so I’m not worried.”

“Everything evolves in life – people are trying to get better, trying to get faster,” he added. “It’s not going to be a surprise if it actually happens.”