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Mar 03, 2025

'Hurts me to the core' - Usain Bolt never got revenge on the one sprinter who truly rattled him | talkSPORT

Even the very best in sport’s history are left with regrets. Usain Bolt is undoubtedly one of those athletes who’s on a pantheon of the greats of any sport, but one forgotten American sprinter still

Even the very best in sport’s history are left with regrets.

Usain Bolt is undoubtedly one of those athletes who’s on a pantheon of the greats of any sport, but one forgotten American sprinter still annoys him to this day.

The Jamaican is still the fastest man of all time over 100 and 200 metres and considered by many as the greatest athlete due to those Blue Riband records.

Yet a lesser known Florida native has the boast as unbeaten against the greatest of all time.

Appearing on the Ready Set Go podcast with Justin Gatlin and Rodney Green, the Jamaican icon recalled one race that left him fuming with his best friend in sport, Wallace Spearmon.

In 2007 at an event in Zurich, Bolt and Spearmon got a call from an unknown number telling them it was ‘X’.

It turns out the ‘X’ in question was Xavier Carter who told Spearmon he was going to ‘tear their a***s up’.

Recalling his version of events in his rivalry with Carter, Bolt said: “One time I ran with him was in ‘07 and he got me, and I never got a chance to run relay with him again so I was happy that I actually got the chance.

“It was the same year, we came second to the US, and it was me and him on the back stretch and he got the best of me, so when I got the chance to compete with him after the season, for me that was good.”

However, this time around Spearmon warned Bolt not to take on his countryman unless he was in top condition.

Bolt ignored that advice, and was left with his biggest-ever career regret.

Carter beat him, and in doing so looked back and pulled out an X with his arms, leaving Bolt fuming.

“It hurts me to the core to this day because I never got the chance to beat him back, I never got the chance, to the core bro,” the 38-year-old said.

“I’ll never forget we came back from the championship and he’s [Carter] been training there for a couple of weeks, he was ready, and he [Spearmon] goes ‘you’re tired’ and I said ‘no I’m good’ and he said ‘you don’t know you’re tired but you’re tired’ I said ‘I’m ready bro’.

“I pulled up to the race and I’m running and thinking ‘yo I am tired!’ you can tell when your body’s like ‘na’.

“He goes [and wins]. I was pissed, and then the next race I decided I wasn’t running because I was dead.

“I said to him [Spearmon], ‘if you don’t beat him I’m gonna kick your ass’. If you don’t beat Xavier I’m gonna kick your ass.

“I was pissed and I never got to race him again after that, never. He beat me last and I was pissed.”

Jokingly asking if Carter was available for a re-match, Bolt then said: “I’ll pull up now!”

There was some relief for Bolt, as Spearmon did beat Carter, finishing ahead of him in first with a ‘tired’ Bolt down in fourth.

Calling Carter a ‘bad, bad man’ Spearmon also revealed that Bolt never recovered from the defeat until he won the Olympics a year later.

That year saw Carter’s potential derailed by a series of injuries, but nevertheless, he’ll still go down as the only man to ever have own his way with the GOAT.