Usain Bolt has been the fastest man on the planet for more than a decade and, as you may imagine, the legendary Jamaican sprinter is often asked about racing other people. In fact, Bolt was recently asked by Complex Sports if people often solicit him for races. Bolt responded by unleashing a bizarre and hilarious story about 64-year-old actor Mickey Rourke.
Bolt painted this absurd picture:
“People all the time. People all the time. But the only person that was the biggest thing was Mickey Rourke. He challenged me to a race and I thought he was joking he’s like “let’s go!” In the streets at like 3 in the morning, he took his shoes off and everything. Like for 20 meters.”
This is hysterical on a number of levels, but the first of which is that Rourke is, to be kind, on the older side. Bolt did not elaborate as to when this challenge took place, but even if it came a decade ago, Rourke would have been in his mid-50’s and presumably not in absolute peak physical condition. Then, there is the part about taking his shoes off and, well, that’s an image that could generate laughter from anyone. It takes some gall to go after an Olympic sprinter in a footrace, but Rourke felt it necessary to prepare by taking his shoes off and, given the late hour, one’s mind could wander about other motivations and context.
Usain Bolt probably isn’t afraid to race against anyone on Earth, but Mickey Rourke wouldn’t exactly make the short list of potential threats. Especially if the race happened at three in the morning.
(Via Complex Sports)
