Running News Daily

Olympic champion Usain Bolt will be running 800m race as a promotion for CarMax

The reigning 100m and 200m Olympic champion is coming out of retirement for one race and one race only — not in either of his signature events, but in the 800m. Usain Bolt, who recently became the father of twins, will be making a brief comeback to run a promotional race for the used vehicle retailer, CarMax.

Bolt, whose 13-year reign as Olympic champion is set to come to an end this summer, said in an interview with NBC Sports that he’s enjoying being back on the track. “I definitely miss it a little bit,” he said. “I’m excited to be training and just running and seeing what I can do.”

To get ready for the race, Bolt has been riding his Peloton bike and hitting the track for some interval sessions. “Just to get my legs ready for the lactic acid and my lungs for the air that I need,” he explained. His best time over 800m is 2:05, but he says he did that without spikes. “If I put the spikes on, I can make it under 2 minutes,” he insisted.

The race is set to take place on July 13, and will be broadcast on his Facebook page. He won’t be racing against anyone, and instead, his opponent will be a CarMax customer who is getting an instant online offer for a vehicle on their phone while Bolt sprints around his home track. Much to his fans’ disappointment, he made it clear that no, this is not a sign of a future comeback.

“Definitely not,” he said. “This is just a one-off challenge to see if I still got it.”