Gary Lineker has previously revealed he could rival Usain Bolt in the 100m dash. Although Lineker is best known for his playing career with Leicester, Barcelona and Spurs, as well as his commentary roles with the BBC, the 63-year-old could have followed a completely different career path if he had wanted to.

During the London 2012 Olympics, Lineker revealed he had been a keen sprinter in his youth – but his involvement in the sport was limited to school athletics tournaments in Leicestershire. Speaking to The Telegraph in 2012, the star said he could match some of the best sprinters.

“I ran 10.56 in one of those sprint challenges,” he said. “I was small but fast. I was running the 100m, 200m and 400m, but I would crash after 50 yards in the 400m. But I would always find someone a little faster than me, finishing second or third, which was frustrating, so I always thought I would have a better chance in cricket (as a batsman) than in running or anything else, and then a football opportunity came along first.”

For context, Lineker’s accepted best time in the 100m sprint is just one second slower than Bolt’s world record of 9.58 seconds. Bolt first broke the world record in May 2008 with a time of 9.72 seconds at the Jamaica Kingston Invitational, before breaking his own record just a few months later at the Beijing Olympics.

A time of 9.69 seconds earned him the gold medal at the event in China, and he also dominated the 200m sprint. He broke the record once again at the 2009 World Athletics Championships in Berlin with a time of 9.58 seconds – a record that remained unbroken for 15 years.

One of the most decorated sprinters in history, Bolt has won eight Olympic gold medals in total, including victories at the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Summer Games, as well as 11 golds at the World Championships. He finally retired in 2017 at the age of 34 after suffering a serious hamstring injury.

Lineker signed his first professional contract with Leicester City in 1978, then played for Everton, Barcelona, ​​Tottenham Hotspur and Nagoya Grampus before retiring from football in 1994. He also scored 48 goals in 80 appearances for England.

The former football star is now the face of the BBC’s football coverage, presenting the highlights programme Match of the Day, as well as international coverage of the World Cup and European Championship, as well as FA Cup fixtures.