Andy Murray emerged amongst tennis’ ‘Big Three’ to claim three Grand Slam titles, but many argue his total would have been far more had he been born in a different generation.
A similar case may be made for Neymar, whose undeniable talent would perhaps have seen him claim multiple Ballon d’Ors were it not for the dominance of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
And if there is one athlete who arguably best captures this argument, it’s sprinter Yohan Blake.
The second fastest man of all time, the Jamaican had the misfortune of coming up against Olympic legend Usain Bolt in his prime.
Blake won two silver medals at London 2012 in the 100m and 200m, coming second to Bolt in both events, who tasted Games glory eight times in his historic career.
Given just how high Blake ranks among sprinting’s all-time greats without ever tasting individual Olympic glory, the Jamaican would certainly be forgiven for feeling slightly hard done by.
And in 2019, he admitted that had it not been for Bolt, he would have dominated the field of sprinting.
Speaking to the Times of India, he said: “If you take Bolt away from the picture, I would be the fastest man in everything. I feel like I was born at the wrong time.
“But nevertheless, I am happy with what I have achieved. Yes, it was hard because it was his time and it was hard competing against Bolt.”
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