Usain Bolt recalls Mickey Rourke challenging him to race at 3 a.m.

As the fastest man in the world, Usain Bolt has been challenged to race a number of times during his career.

Among those challengers is actor Mickey Rourke, who, as Bolt recalled to Russ Bengtson of Complex, once raced him barefoot down a street at 3 a.m.

"People all the time. People all the time," Bolt said. "But the only person that was the biggest thing was Mickey Rourke. He challenged me to a race and I thought he was joking he's like "let's go!" In the streets at like 3 (a.m.) in the morning, he took his shoes off and everything. Like for 20 meters.

Asked how many meters he beat Rourke by, Bolt laughed and replied, "It was good though, it was good fun."

Rourke spoke about the story in a 2012 interview with Yahoo Sports' Martin Rogers, but in his version, he beat Bolt "by a few inches" after getting a head start.

"We were outside the Wellington in Central London and it was four in the morning," Rourke said. "It was just that time of the night, you know, when anything can happen. So I went up to him and I said, 'Come on, you are the world's fastest man, let's go.'"

Rourke insisted, quite appropriately given the gap in age, size and sprinting pedigree, on receiving a head start as a small group of late-night revelers looked on in bemusement.

"There was a space in the street of about 30 meters," Rourke said. "I got him to back up about four paces, we set off and I got him by a few inches."

- With h/t to For The Win