Photo Credit: File Photo
Footballers are pretty fast. Perhaps with 2024 being an Olympic year, there is even more temptation to compare them to actual sprinters.
Kylian Mbappe, the French football star who is set to leave Paris Saint-Germain and join Real Madrid this summer, has accepted the challenge to race against eight-time Olympic champion Usain Bolt in a 100m charity race. Bolt recently suggested during an interview that Mbappe should participate in a race against him, and spoke about his admiration for the 25-year-old forward, admitting he was "inspired" by Mbappe.
Mbappe responded to Bolt's challenge during a promotional event co-organised by Nike and his foundation, 'Inspired by KM', saying that it was "gratifying" that he inspired the Jamaican who made a brief foray into football after retiring from athletics. He also acknowledged that Bolt inspired everyone and that he started to admire him first. Mbappe then agreed to the 100m sprint but claimed he does not think he will come out on top, despite it being seven years since the former Olympian retired. He added, "It would be fun, why not one day if we both have the time, do something nice [...] I don’t expect much from the result."
Bolt has become the de facto yardstick for measuring elite footballers and their sprinting capacities.Bolt retired from athletics in 2017 and has tried his hand at football since then, spending time with Australian side the Central Coast Mariners. He is now 37 years of age, but would still expect to have enough left in the tank to beat Mbappe if they do see an exhibition race lined up.Usain Bolt still holds the world record for the 100m with a time of 9.58 seconds, which he set during the World Athletics Championship final in Berlin in August 2009. He also holds the record for the second-fastest time, with Tyson Gay and Yohan Blake alongside as joint-third. As for Mbappe, he is often recognized among the fastest footballers in the world. However, as of October 2023, he did not even register in the top 10 quickest players in Ligue 1, with Clermont Foot's Andy Pelmard topping the charts and Marseille's Jonathan Clauss coming in second.
Mbappe's contract with PSG will expire this summer, and he is set to join Real Madrid. However, PSG boss Luis Enrique is hopeful that the forward can change his mind and remain at the club. He said, "Me, I've always remained hopeful that Kylian could change his mind - he hasn't said anything for now. He could change his mind. Imagine if we win four trophies this season and Kylian Mbappe decides at the last minute that he wants to stay in Paris. Why not, we will see."
