LONDON, July 10: World 100 metres record holder Usain Bolt could break the nine-second barrier if he gets a start as fast as his training partner Yohan Blake, according to the former world 200 metres record holder Tommie Smith.

Bolt, who was beaten by Blake in both the 100 and 200 at this year's Jamaican trials, set his world record of 9.58 seconds at the 2009 Berlin world championships. He also reduced his own world 200 record to 19.19 in Berlin.

“If he gets a Blake start, we are looking at 8.9, 8.88, three eights in the 100 metres,” Smith said on Tuesday. “If he gets a Blake start in the 200 and comes off the turn with that technique of his, he might really go sub-19.”

Smith set a world record of 19.83 seconds in the thin air of Mexico City at the 1968 Olympics. —Reuters