Rio Olympics: World’s fastest man Usain Bolt has never run a mile… and here’s why you could beat him over that distance
USAIN BOLT is the fastest man in the world - but he has never run so far as a mile.
And, incredibly, you could be able to match the six-time Olympic gold medallist over that distance.
The Jamaican sprint superstar's agent, Ricky Simms, recently confirmed to the that his man has "never run a mile".
Bolt holds the world record in the 100m with 9.58secs - when he reached a top speed of more than 27mph - and the 200m in 19.19secs.
He cannot keep up that pace for an entire mile - just over 1,600m - and that has led to speculation about just how quickly he could cover the distance.
Respected website has put the time somewhere between 3mins 55secs - some 12 seconds slower than the fastest recorded time - and a massive six minutes.
To put this into perspective, more than 23,000 American secondary school runners clock a five-minute mile every year.
Research also shows that each year some 15 Americans run a mile in under five minutes.
Robert Johnson is the co-founder of the site and a former cross-country coach.
He is "very confident" there is no way Bolt could break the five-minute barrier in a mile and says it's "ludicrous" to think he would be good over that distance just because he is a fast sprinter.
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But brother Weldon, a former Olympic-trials distance runner, believes with training Bolt could easily do it in under five minutes.
However, respected professor Ross Tucker said: "Speed over short distances does not automatically guarantee relative speed over long distances.
"What a 100m or 200m runner relies on is incapable of meeting his demands over a mile.
"The 100m speed translates pretty well up to 400m. But after that there is a large change."
We will never know exactly how fast Bolt can cover the distance until he actually does it - but history is against him finishing in the time it takes to cook a steak.
Carl Lewis has nine Olympic gold medals but appeared shattered after running a 2min 16secs half-mile in his prime in 1986 and Johnson reckons there is "no way" he would have done the full distance in under five minutes.