It’s not often you’ll catch a British royal competing against a world record-holding sprinter but in 2012, it happened when Prince Harry competed with Usain Bolt in Jamaica. The lighthearted race made news around the world and provided a peek into Harry’s carefree spirit during his official royal visit to the Caribbean.
The informal sprint was held at the University of the West Indies stadium in Jamaica. Harry, visiting the Caribbean nations of Belize, the Bahamas, and Jamaica to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee, took a moment out of his diplomatic schedule for some sporty fun. He had not yet become a full-time working royal at the time, a position he would formally assume in 2015. Previously, he had served in the British Armed Forces and fulfilled occasional royal duties for the Queen.
Race videos soon went viral, with people enjoying Prince Harry’s mischievous playfulness. At one point, the prince attempted to get an early head start in jest, prompting a call for a rematch from Bolt. “He cheated. I told him we’d have a rematch in London 2012, and Harry said, ‘I’m busy,'” Bolt laughed.
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11. That time when Prince Harry beat Usain Bolt in a race.pic.twitter.com/rlqWdKjXZZ
— Unscripted (@UnscriptedFacts) June 9, 2025
Aside from the joke, the royal only had nice things to say about Bolt. “When you sit with dignitaries, you feel like it’s going to be tough, but he just wanted to joke. It was a pleasure and an honour to meet him. I’m still the world’s fastest man, so he has got a lot of work to do,” the Olympian joked, calling Harry ‘cool’ and very down-to-earth.
Reactions to the race on the internet were almost entirely positive, with many fascinated by Prince Harry’s humility and sense of humor. Some also compared him to his late mother, Princess Diana. One user commented, “I’ve always loved Harry; he’s literally a reflection of Diana, and that’s why the royal family doesn’t like him.” The memory of Princess Diana’s own race at a school sports event in 1991, where she joined other mothers in a sprint, was fondly recalled.
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10. Princess Diana in London, 1997.pic.twitter.com/pmgyrUFfP5
— Unscripted (@UnscriptedFacts) June 9, 2025
Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, have now moved away from their royal duties and do not serve as representatives of the Royal Family in the official sense. Nevertheless, such moments still linger in the minds of people and represent the prince’s own style of being royal couched in empathy, impulsiveness, and humour.
