--- description: Usain Bolt, the fastest human in history and winner of nine Olympic gold medals, visited TIME's New York City offices on Sept. 22. title: Watch Usain Bolt Name His 'Mount Rushmore' of Greatest Athletes of All Time image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt054df3e053feb582/6988a753196cf443b303d517/usain_bolt.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Sports](/section/sports/) ## Sports Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Usain Bolt](/tag/usain-bolt/) ## Usain Bolt Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Watch Usain Bolt Name His 'Mount Rushmore' of Greatest Athletes of All Time by [Sean Gregory](/author/sean-gregory/) and [TIME Video](/author/time-video/) Sep 23, 2016 4:47 PM CUT  Usain Bolt bites his gold medal during the medal ceremony for the Men's 4 x 100 meter Relay on Day 15 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium on Aug. 20, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro. Usain Bolt bites his gold medal during the medal ceremony for the Men's 4 x 100 meter Relay on Day 15 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium on Aug. 20, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro.Patrick Smith—Getty Images by [Sean Gregory](/author/sean-gregory/) and [TIME Video](/author/time-video/) Sep 23, 2016 4:47 PM CUT Who are the greatest athletes of all time? This question has driven millions of debates, with participants who may or may not be inebriated, in pubs and offices and living rooms across the world. [Usain Bolt](http://time.com/4460126/usain-bolt-rio-olympics-gold-relay-greatest-of-all-time/ "undefined"), the [fastest human in history](http://time.com/4451806/usain-bolt-gold-rio-2016-olympics-100-meters-gatlin-blake/ "undefined") and winner of nine [Olympic gold medals](http://time.com/4444818/gold-medal-team-usa-rio-2016-olympics/ "undefined"), visited TIME’s New York City offices on Sept. 22\. We asked him to wade in: Who do you think are the four greatest athletes of all-time? Who’s on your Mount Rushmore? “Oh my God,” Bolt says, before tilting his head down to think up a list. Muhammad Ali, he mentions first. Then Michael Jordan. Followed by Pele. Bolts look up. “And me,” Bolt says. What’s his case? “I’ve accomplished something that no one has ever done before,” says Bolt. Besides his nine Olympic golds—over nine straight races in Beijing, London and Rio—Bolt also holds the world records in the 100-m and 200-m. “I’m comfortable to say I’m a legend, because I’ve done great things.” Any quibbles? ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4505352/usain-bolts-mount-rushmore-athletes/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4505352/usain-bolts-mount-rushmore-athletes/"},"headline":"Watch Usain Bolt Name His 'Mount Rushmore' of Greatest Athletes of All Time","datePublished":"2016-09-23T16:47:56.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-30T12:15:03.231Z","description":"Does he put himself on the pinnacle?","url":"https://time.com/4505352/usain-bolts-mount-rushmore-athletes/","keywords":["Usain Bolt","pele","Summer Olympics","michael jordan","Muhammad Ali","2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt054df3e053feb582/6988a753196cf443b303d517/usain_bolt.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sean Gregory","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/sean-gregory/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Video","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-video/"}],"articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt054df3e053feb582/6988a753196cf443b303d517/usain_bolt.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"usain_bolt","caption":"Usain Bolt bites his gold medal during the medal ceremony for the Men's 4 x 100 meter Relay on Day 15 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium on Aug. 20, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro.","creditText":"Patrick Smith—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/usain-bolt/","name":"Usain Bolt"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4505352/usain-bolts-mount-rushmore-athletes/","name":"Watch Usain Bolt Name His 'Mount Rushmore' of Greatest Athletes of All Time"}}]}] ```