Did Mickey Rourke Really Beat Usain Bolt in a 3am Race Through London?

The answer is… maybe.

Can you imagine how many times people have come up to Usain Bolt and asked to race him? I’d guess it’s a lot. I’d also guess that he usually politely declines. But there doesn’t sound like there was anything usual about the night Mickey Rourke challenged him to a race.

Here’s the story he told Complex.

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.

How Rourke and Bolt found themselves on the street together at three in the morning remains a mystery. But the sleuths at For the Win have tracked down another piece of the story. In 2012, Rourke told Yahoo Sports the story with some minor changes in detail. In Rourke’s telling it was 30 meters, not 20. And it was 4am, not 3am. Rourke said he got a head start and ending up winning by “a few inches.”

Unsurprisingly, Rourke also admitted that he had been drinking tequila that night. So, to sum things up, Mickey Rourke says he beat Usain Bolt in a foot race, with a small head start, while barefoot and drunk. 

And how does Bolt say it ended? When Complex asked, all he said was “It was good fun.” Crazy as it sounds, maybe Mickey is telling the truth.