The crazy experiment where Justin Gatlin ran 100m faster than Usain Bolt's world record

Justin Gatlin is one of the fastest men in history.

The 2004 Olympic champion over 100 metres was one of few sprinters to ever beat Usain Bolt during his prime, claiming his second World Championship gold medal over the blue-riband distance in 2017.

Gatlin had previously conquered the globe over both 100 and 200 metres in Helsinki in 2005, while also adding 4×100-metre relay gold to his collection with Team USA in 2019.

However, it was at a Diamond League meeting in 2015 that Gatlin posted his fastest ever time over 100m, crossing the line in 9.74 seconds to become the fifth-fastest human being in history.

Naturally, Bolt is still miles ahead with his eye-watering world record of 9.58, but Gatlin’s electrifying time saw him breathing down the neck of some of the swiftest men to have ever worn spikes.

Tyson Gay and Yohan Blake both boast personal bests of 9.69 and former world-record holder Asafa Powell reached his peak with a time of 9.72 as the only sprinters to clock quicker times than Gatlin.

Or, at least, that’s the case when we’re talking about legal times, because technically Gatlin has covered 100 metres in less time than it took Bolt when he registered 9.58 at Berlin in 2009.

And no, we’re not talking about anything untoward, but rather an experimental race for Japanese television where Gatlin was given some extra assistance by massive wind turbines.

According to the Independent, Gatlin’s bizarre race over 100 metres was a stunt performed for a game show called ‘Kasupe!’ in early 2016 with a series of wind aids aiming to propel him towards an unofficial world record.

A massive turbine helped the US sprinter to launch out of the blocks at superhuman speeds, before a series of fans further down the track helped him