The first thing I should note, as I couldn’t keep track of the Jamaicans smoking the U.S., is that Usain Bolt is really the greatest track showman. He’s a showboat, a demigod and a natural-born athlete, the sprinting sensation of the world, which affirms he’s The World’s Fastest Man. Nobody can keep up with Bolt, let alone the Americans, an amazing talent running the greatest footraces of these London Games.
Lightning Bolt is the hero of the Olympics, a new theme of track and field. It’s the greatest show in the world by a man who is merely described as the fastest man alive, born with a gift to run for his life and break world records as we become crazy about the Usain Bolt Show. His countryman, Yohan Blake, the 100 and 200-meter silver medalist, handed over the baton and, man, Bolt pulled away in the final leg to blaze across the finish line with a time of 36.84 seconds. I was impressed by him and dropped my jaw Saturday night, as always, when Bolt anchored Jamaica’s world-record performance in the 4×100 relay, breaking its own record in its gold-medal medal victory.
Walt Disney released a film called “Cool Runnings” years ago. The movie was based on a true story about a Jamaican bobsled team that raced at the Winter Olympics. The folks at Disney — as Bolt has been entertaining and electrifying to characterize the nature of track and field events in these games — should choose to make a sequel to “Cool Runnings” and call it Lightning Bolt. The motion picture, after all, would be a seller and top the movie’s box office as one of the greatest sports films of all-time.
It was, after all, the prelude to an Olympic dream, and Bolt cemented his place as one of the greatest runners of all time. There’s no denying it — we are watching Bolt blossom into a legend of these London Games before our very eyes, after sustaining excellence of defending three championships. He is hailed as the Michael Jordan of track stars, captivating 80,000 in Olympic Stadium, with his incredible feet, agility and will to win during his prime as millions across the world respects him rightfully so. The night for Great Britain was filled with euphoria, as well, when Mo Farah beat Ethiopia’s Dejen Gebremeskel in the men’s 5,000-meter final to go with his 10,000 gold, perhaps more impressive than watching Bolt and Bailey in the final leg that concluded with a dramatic finish. Bolt is the most coveted of all Olympians and pulled away from American Ryan Bailey, an impressive run in the final leg of the race, while a rambunctious crowd erupted in cheers and wildly screamed.
My eyes, however, were glued to Bolt the entire time, and no one else. He is, without argument, an Olympic legend, no matter what IOC president Jacques Rogge thinks about his legacy, saying Bolt is not yet there. The rest of the world thinks he wasn’t only the star of the sport, but feels he took another step toward moving into the company of all-time great Carl Lewis, who Bolt ripped earlier this week. If not now, eventually we’ll have no choice but to call him a legend, surpassing Lewis as the most decorated sprinter in Olympic history. Most of all, however, he’s wore the Jamaican flag around his shoulders and gold medals around his neck three times. It’s no fluke that Bolt dominated the 100 and 200-meter with his God-given speed when, rather amazingly, he’s the most relentless athlete the world has ever seen and embraced.
There’s no one as fast as Bolt, a near-perfectionist and the greatest sprinter, running all the way to claim his third gold medal of these London Games and sixth in two summer games. There’s no one who runs harder than Bolt, not right now at least. There’s nothing more breathtaking and wonderful in sports than Bolt. You were delighted, thrilled, essentially falling out of your seat, wondering how the heck he runs so quick. The most athletic runner in London is Bolt. This is a guy who once, with a straight face, said he’s the best of all-time and he’s right about it.
That’s no lie.
But what about the United States? From the moment American Tyson Gay was handed the baton, he had trouble keeping up with Blake, who outran him to give Bolt a huge lead. The handoff from Gay to Justin Gatlin was anything but perfect. But if we’ve learned anything, besides understanding that Bolt is by far the greatest, it’s that Bailey can somehow stay with the fastest man in history. This is not to say, mind you, that he can edge Bolt in a race, because it’s not seemingly possible and won’t ever happen. As time progressed during the race, Bolt had to run all the way and beat Bailey to the finish. There’s no doubt Bailey, 23, is an emerging U.S. track star, not intimidated to compete and endure a challenging footrace against Bolt.
Short of the finish — as Jamaica dominated again — a common trait of the Jamaican culture, the Americans finished second in a time of 37.04 and captured silver. As for Bailey, he’s the emerging U.S track star for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, where he looks to compete and avenge a gold-medal loss against Bolt, who had to run at full speed. This time, Bolt had to actually give it his best effort, like having to accelerate and run all the way until he reached the finish line, just enough to hold off the Americans. Bolt couldn’t slow down and celebrate prematurely, but when he delivered a signature performance, he performed gold-medal winner Farah’s famous salute.
The Jamaicans were running for one purpose, and indeed they brought home the gold, as defending three titles was Bolt’s stated goal. The Jamaicans are celebrating, and among all sprinters, Bolt is partying the most. But as long as Bolt is around, he will be the man to beat. With him around, Jamaica has sustained historic achievements.
Showing posts with label Usain Bolt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Usain Bolt. Show all posts
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Usain Bolt Strikes Lightning On London’s Brightest Stage
He is about to become the king of racing, to be precise. Taking off out of the starting block the minute the starting gun fired at Olympic Stadium, unfazed by the doubts and skeptics discounting him as the world’s fastest man, Usain Bolt hauled down the track, faster than a stampede of wildebeests. Well ahead of other sprinters to defend the Olympic 100-meter title Sunday night, he spread his arms in celebration, knowing nobody was behind him to catch up and deprive him of back-to-back resplendent performances, knowing he had just claimed the shiny hardware that he wore around his neck in Beijing four years ago.
As quickly as he dusted everyone in competition, he crossed the finish line and rolled his eyes, as the world’s fastest man alive celebrated, showboated, preened and bobbed his head. It also was Bolt bobblehead night at the center of Olympic Stadium, moving and jerking his head so much to revel in the moment after seizing another opportunity to win the 100-meter gold in 9.63 seconds, the second-fastest time ever run. After weeks of doubt, Bolt won the race, as usual, and kissed the ground, performed a somersault, struck his trademark lightning bolt pose and hugged his training partner and countryman Yohan Blake, who was second matching his personal best with a time of 9.75 seconds. There was an American who finished in the spotlight, as well, but Justin Gatlin lost for the first time this season, settling for bronze in a time of 9.79 seconds. Of course, Bolt was going to win the race — and not just by a step, but dust everyone in the fastest 100-meter dash you will ever see this generation. There’s no overstatement. Bolt, born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica, had the greatest footrace in history to burnish a wondrous legacy.
At age 25, he’s achieved more than the average Olympian, idolized in his native home Jamaica, including other parts of the world as people all over the universe savor his awesome, far-reaching speed, a natural born star treated like an almighty superstar worldwide. That’s what happens when a man has a signature race that we will certainly recall one day, as the incredible showman put on a breathtaking display no one will ever forget, flying faster than Carl Lewis, who is the only other sprinter to defend his 100 Olympic title. Jesse Owens? Not so sure about him… But I do know that Bolt ran the race under 10 seconds to truly become a sporting legend, maybe even one of the most attractive icons in the land of the USA, where he even featured in an ESPN Sportscenter commercial, where he’s marketable, which he is one of the world’s richest sports personalities.
Yet his sport isn’t nearly as respected as are football, basketball and baseball, the basic three Americans tend to follow, while we ignore track and field, which is only popular and eventful every four years that the summer games are in progress. Otherwise, nobody talks about Bolt, an athletic star just as famous and competitive as, say, Kobe Bryant, Tiger Woods, Derek Jeter, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and David Beckham. If he was born and raised in the U.S., he’d easily be seen among the greatest, but Bolt is a stud, an all-time great and is anointed all over the world, drawing all eyes as a sellout crowd of 80,000 chanted “Usain! Usain! Usain!” In these Olympics, shutting up the few who said he wasn’t fast enough to continue his dominance, Bolt, famously living up to his moniker, exploded to the finish just hours before Jamaica’s 50th anniversary of independence, giving his folks back home more reason to celebrate.
If you can beat Tyson Gay, the second-fastest man in the world, and also outrun Richard Thompson of Trinidad, who won silver in the event four years ago in China, then you know you are pretty damn fast. He also burned Blake, yes, his teammate who smoked Bolt twice in the 100 and 200 at the Jamaican Olympic trials, and folks wondered about Bolt’s health status that raised concern as to whether or not he could retain the men’s 100m title when indeed he secured another Olympic gold to add to his collection. From the water to the track, as we dwelled on U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps for the past week when he shattered an historic Olympic record and earned a massive total of 22 medals, 18 of them gold, now we are harping on the fastest creature to run. In a statement victory, followed by a standing ovation from an amazed crowd that witnessed a jaw-dropping, dramatic finish, he can wear the Jamaican flag around his shoulders like a superhero’s cape all he wants and can keep running on the track as if there’s a race to be ran.
From here on out, Bolt has a molded personality that best defines him, and so he won’t change anytime soon, as we’ve grown to accept his victory pose, his dancing and his obnoxious frowns and facial gestures. He is, nonetheless, entitled to do what he feels is necessary, winning again to bloom on the biggest stage and keep the Olympic cauldron burning until Sunday, thanks in large part to his fastness and finesse. The need to defy science is the least important to Bolt — running not for scientists’ curiosity of evaluating the speed of sprinters — but to compete in a sport that he trains hard for and succeeds in these days. The race, believe it or not, was collectively the fastest 100-meter race in history, when seven sprinters zipped across the finish line under 10 seconds for a track event that will forever be talked about. Soon after he left the block, running faster than the rest of the gang, he had separated himself from them and then he turned his head back and effortlessly brought it home, a familiar affair recognized in Beijing four years ago. It was a time he dominated the summer games, as well, owning the track at the Bird Nest in China, like the way he owns Olympic Stadium now to the point where it can be named after him.
Bolt Stadium?
No, he couldn’t set a world record but he didn’t really have to, and still ran like a ferocious animal. Had he ran harder, and not decided to relax, Bolt would have broken the world record easily. But he wasn’t concerned about the world record, and just cared about becoming a two-time champion in the same race, one that seems to expose his strength and no weaknesses. Better than ever, Bolt likes drama, he likes excitement, he likes the noise he makes, bringing plenty of action to a race every time he walks onto the track and sets up for a footrace that he usually wins ridiculously. The attention was more important, craving the spotlight more than he does actually winning a race? Hmmm. Maybe he does. Maybe he doesn’t.
But either way, that is, he certainly loves the limelight, which explains why he’s so flashy and is much of a showboat by his actions and facial expressions that doesn’t float too well for some who think Bolt is pompous and arrogant. Not the case whatsoever. But now, as we can see straight and clearly, he’s a competitor, an athlete who cares about his popularity and rather entertain a large crowd, win or lose. So by staying true to his word, a civilized and humanly unstoppable specimen, ran almost the perfect and fastest race.
In fact, he had to be flying as fast as a 90 mph fastball, quicker than a cheetah or dragsters. With his speed, just to ensure you, Bolt can have a second-career, once he’s done racing and start a business for public transportation that wheels people across a community in a four-wheeled wagon at high speed. Millions of people in America waited to witness the fastest man alive, Usain Bolt, as opposed to U.S. sprinters Gay and Gatlin. We adore the drama and gripping performances in sports, and with Bolt’s burst of speed, his much-hyped world records in the modern era of the 100-meter dash, attracting such a mass audience that he fascinates as he leans back with his arms slanted and the left hand pointing into the air, our folks are infatuated with Jamaica’s sprinting sensation.
If you’re not awestruck by this, then I don’t know what to tell you. It was the race of the ages, an instant classic, an Olympic games to remember.
As quickly as he dusted everyone in competition, he crossed the finish line and rolled his eyes, as the world’s fastest man alive celebrated, showboated, preened and bobbed his head. It also was Bolt bobblehead night at the center of Olympic Stadium, moving and jerking his head so much to revel in the moment after seizing another opportunity to win the 100-meter gold in 9.63 seconds, the second-fastest time ever run. After weeks of doubt, Bolt won the race, as usual, and kissed the ground, performed a somersault, struck his trademark lightning bolt pose and hugged his training partner and countryman Yohan Blake, who was second matching his personal best with a time of 9.75 seconds. There was an American who finished in the spotlight, as well, but Justin Gatlin lost for the first time this season, settling for bronze in a time of 9.79 seconds. Of course, Bolt was going to win the race — and not just by a step, but dust everyone in the fastest 100-meter dash you will ever see this generation. There’s no overstatement. Bolt, born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica, had the greatest footrace in history to burnish a wondrous legacy.
At age 25, he’s achieved more than the average Olympian, idolized in his native home Jamaica, including other parts of the world as people all over the universe savor his awesome, far-reaching speed, a natural born star treated like an almighty superstar worldwide. That’s what happens when a man has a signature race that we will certainly recall one day, as the incredible showman put on a breathtaking display no one will ever forget, flying faster than Carl Lewis, who is the only other sprinter to defend his 100 Olympic title. Jesse Owens? Not so sure about him… But I do know that Bolt ran the race under 10 seconds to truly become a sporting legend, maybe even one of the most attractive icons in the land of the USA, where he even featured in an ESPN Sportscenter commercial, where he’s marketable, which he is one of the world’s richest sports personalities.
Yet his sport isn’t nearly as respected as are football, basketball and baseball, the basic three Americans tend to follow, while we ignore track and field, which is only popular and eventful every four years that the summer games are in progress. Otherwise, nobody talks about Bolt, an athletic star just as famous and competitive as, say, Kobe Bryant, Tiger Woods, Derek Jeter, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and David Beckham. If he was born and raised in the U.S., he’d easily be seen among the greatest, but Bolt is a stud, an all-time great and is anointed all over the world, drawing all eyes as a sellout crowd of 80,000 chanted “Usain! Usain! Usain!” In these Olympics, shutting up the few who said he wasn’t fast enough to continue his dominance, Bolt, famously living up to his moniker, exploded to the finish just hours before Jamaica’s 50th anniversary of independence, giving his folks back home more reason to celebrate.
If you can beat Tyson Gay, the second-fastest man in the world, and also outrun Richard Thompson of Trinidad, who won silver in the event four years ago in China, then you know you are pretty damn fast. He also burned Blake, yes, his teammate who smoked Bolt twice in the 100 and 200 at the Jamaican Olympic trials, and folks wondered about Bolt’s health status that raised concern as to whether or not he could retain the men’s 100m title when indeed he secured another Olympic gold to add to his collection. From the water to the track, as we dwelled on U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps for the past week when he shattered an historic Olympic record and earned a massive total of 22 medals, 18 of them gold, now we are harping on the fastest creature to run. In a statement victory, followed by a standing ovation from an amazed crowd that witnessed a jaw-dropping, dramatic finish, he can wear the Jamaican flag around his shoulders like a superhero’s cape all he wants and can keep running on the track as if there’s a race to be ran.
From here on out, Bolt has a molded personality that best defines him, and so he won’t change anytime soon, as we’ve grown to accept his victory pose, his dancing and his obnoxious frowns and facial gestures. He is, nonetheless, entitled to do what he feels is necessary, winning again to bloom on the biggest stage and keep the Olympic cauldron burning until Sunday, thanks in large part to his fastness and finesse. The need to defy science is the least important to Bolt — running not for scientists’ curiosity of evaluating the speed of sprinters — but to compete in a sport that he trains hard for and succeeds in these days. The race, believe it or not, was collectively the fastest 100-meter race in history, when seven sprinters zipped across the finish line under 10 seconds for a track event that will forever be talked about. Soon after he left the block, running faster than the rest of the gang, he had separated himself from them and then he turned his head back and effortlessly brought it home, a familiar affair recognized in Beijing four years ago. It was a time he dominated the summer games, as well, owning the track at the Bird Nest in China, like the way he owns Olympic Stadium now to the point where it can be named after him.
Bolt Stadium?
No, he couldn’t set a world record but he didn’t really have to, and still ran like a ferocious animal. Had he ran harder, and not decided to relax, Bolt would have broken the world record easily. But he wasn’t concerned about the world record, and just cared about becoming a two-time champion in the same race, one that seems to expose his strength and no weaknesses. Better than ever, Bolt likes drama, he likes excitement, he likes the noise he makes, bringing plenty of action to a race every time he walks onto the track and sets up for a footrace that he usually wins ridiculously. The attention was more important, craving the spotlight more than he does actually winning a race? Hmmm. Maybe he does. Maybe he doesn’t.
But either way, that is, he certainly loves the limelight, which explains why he’s so flashy and is much of a showboat by his actions and facial expressions that doesn’t float too well for some who think Bolt is pompous and arrogant. Not the case whatsoever. But now, as we can see straight and clearly, he’s a competitor, an athlete who cares about his popularity and rather entertain a large crowd, win or lose. So by staying true to his word, a civilized and humanly unstoppable specimen, ran almost the perfect and fastest race.
In fact, he had to be flying as fast as a 90 mph fastball, quicker than a cheetah or dragsters. With his speed, just to ensure you, Bolt can have a second-career, once he’s done racing and start a business for public transportation that wheels people across a community in a four-wheeled wagon at high speed. Millions of people in America waited to witness the fastest man alive, Usain Bolt, as opposed to U.S. sprinters Gay and Gatlin. We adore the drama and gripping performances in sports, and with Bolt’s burst of speed, his much-hyped world records in the modern era of the 100-meter dash, attracting such a mass audience that he fascinates as he leans back with his arms slanted and the left hand pointing into the air, our folks are infatuated with Jamaica’s sprinting sensation.
If you’re not awestruck by this, then I don’t know what to tell you. It was the race of the ages, an instant classic, an Olympic games to remember.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
2012 Olympics: Usain Bolt Still Has That Swagger
This is Usain Bolt‘s moment, the most extraordinary story waiting to be told at the 2012 Summer Games in London, the one time he can wear Jamaica’s Olympics gear designed by Bob Marley’s daughter and strap on his golden Puma shoes and claim gold medals as the fastest man in the world. He is the quickest sprinter, and in the blink of an eye, he can run faster than Sonic the Hedgehog. Never has there, as one can recall, been a man as fast as Bolt, at least not from Kingston, Jamaica.
And, in London, like the time he won by remarkable margins at the 2008 Sumer Games in Beijing and 2009 world championships in Berlin, he’s again favored to run the fastest and float across the finish line unbeaten. If he reaches the finish to conquer gold medals, he leans back, with his arms tilted and the left hand pointing skyward for his famous victory pose, and then jogs around the track with the Jamaican flag draped across his shoulders. As a child, growing up three hours away in Jamaica’s rural North West, he loved playing a game called cricket. But then one day, his coach saw potential and convinced him to pursue running. Bolt, a world-class Jamaican track star, found a passion for running at a young age.
It’s likely that his coach had seen something in him and knew he’d someday turn famous and showcase his wheels in track and field, earning endorsement deals from Gatorade and Puma, defined as one of the greatest athletes to ever compete in the Olympics. It’s a sign that he was willing to meet the challenge and stand as a competitor against runners on their quest for gold medals. When he tried running at early age, faster than lightning and born with raw talent, Bolt ran at top speed and Dwayne Barrett and Pablo McNeil inspired him to expand on his speed and swagger. As he gotten better over the years, being that he was a gifted runner, he won his first silver medal in the 200 meters with a time of 22.04 seconds at the annual high school championships in 2001 and rose as a star rather quickly.
As the years went by, Bolt finished with a best of 48.28 seconds in the 400 meters and won a silver medal at the CARIFTA Games in 2001, a Caribbean regional competition. Bolt would go on to record a time of 21.81 in the 200 meters and earned a silver medal — and raced at the 2001 IAAF World Youth Championships in Debrecen, Hungary, a world level event in which he never qualified for the 200 meters final. The amazing thing is, he still finish with a time of 21.73 seconds, for a personal best. The matchups would become effortless each time, and other runners had no shot against Bolt, unable to keep pace with the speediest man alive, unable to cross the finish line without being exhausted and overworked by trying to outdistance him. At every opportunity, Bolt was more noteworthy and faster than before, and had impressive numbers at the Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships, setting the record of 20.61 seconds and 47.12 seconds in the event.
By then, they surely knew who Bolt was after those extraordinary races, a sprinter who fuels on Gatorade and prepares and trains for the stiffest competition, even though his competitiveness and sturdiness has never been a problem during his superlative Olympic games. So respectfully, with all that has happened in his teenage days, Bolt’s work ethic, rigorous preparations and workouts have benefited in his favor, such as the time he won a gold and two silver medals at the age 15 when he raced at the 2002 World Junior Championships in Kingston. Beginning his new journey Bolt was the center of national attention and acclamation for his exceptional speed and performances.
After winning a gold medal at the 2003 World Youth Championships, plus breaking records in both the 400 and 200 meters in his last Jamaican High School Championships with 45.30 seconds and 20.25 seconds, he was advertised as the fastest athlete in the world and had been distinguished as a top-notch runner. Favored to dominate in his particular sport, though he’s been struggling with leg and back problems, Bolt is focused and poised in effort to heighten his legacy and represent his native homeland as one of the greatest to ever run for Jamaica, where he is a beloved icon. You can see Bolt’s sense of responsibility four years later. By flashing back, he was arrogant and a showboat as it was a turnoff for many, and he wasn’t the most likable guy around the globe. It’s in his nature suddenly to avoid premature celebrations and compete at the highest level.
And behind it all, entering the 2012 London Games, Bolt is likely vulnerable to plunge to his rival, training partner Yohan Blake, who beat the world’s dangerous sprinter twice at Jamaica’s Olympic trials. The day he set a personal best in the 100 with his finish in 9.75, Blake, in retrospect, was the subject of many regards and gleamed at a moment that Bolt was doubted and questioned. But, to get a few things straight, he is still a menace and is certain he can heal his disappointments and struggles to put fear in the hearts of every runner, including his Jamaican team member, Blake. And more than anyone — the culture of Jamaican sports, the love of running, the investment of conditioning and exhausted training and discipline and the second nature of their heritage — Bolt is simply the best.
If he prevails, he can easily be one of Olympics most gracious athletes and fastest all time. And Bolt, meanwhile, owns 100m and 200m Olympic titles. His moment perfectly came in 2008 when he shattered the world record and won the 100m effortlessly in Beijing. The most perceptible thing about Bolt, besides that he’s mercurial and speedy and can amass gold, silver and bronze medals on his quest to complete a race with the most wondrous track time, is his blatant 6ft 5in frame and blazing vehemence. He has chicken nuggets for his pre-race meal, an unhealthy diet that fuels him to race at such an all-time high. For years now, he’s been known to be “Lightning Bolt,” a trademark that perfectly fits his brand. At age 25, he’s feeling good and can produce astonishing performance to shatter his own world-record 9.69 seconds in the 100. Ricky Simms, Bolt’s agent, told reporters about two weeks ago that Bolt had no tightness in his hamstring and has returned to high-speed, not hindered by chronic back problems or leg injuries.
It’s hard, though he’s nursing injuries that can have a damaging impact on him, to dismiss a runner as good as Bolt. It wouldn’t be right, nor smart to rule out the world’s fastest sprinter, injured or not, because he’s recorded three faster times this year alone. He isn’t worried but disbelievers are left to wonder if he can avert poor starts.
But a couple of days away from another Olympic appearance, Bolt has a chance to not only dominate, but also an opportunity, a golden opportunity to accumulate a large number of gold medals if he runs proficiently and briskly. If that someone can achieve, it’s no one other than Usain Bolt.
And, in London, like the time he won by remarkable margins at the 2008 Sumer Games in Beijing and 2009 world championships in Berlin, he’s again favored to run the fastest and float across the finish line unbeaten. If he reaches the finish to conquer gold medals, he leans back, with his arms tilted and the left hand pointing skyward for his famous victory pose, and then jogs around the track with the Jamaican flag draped across his shoulders. As a child, growing up three hours away in Jamaica’s rural North West, he loved playing a game called cricket. But then one day, his coach saw potential and convinced him to pursue running. Bolt, a world-class Jamaican track star, found a passion for running at a young age.
It’s likely that his coach had seen something in him and knew he’d someday turn famous and showcase his wheels in track and field, earning endorsement deals from Gatorade and Puma, defined as one of the greatest athletes to ever compete in the Olympics. It’s a sign that he was willing to meet the challenge and stand as a competitor against runners on their quest for gold medals. When he tried running at early age, faster than lightning and born with raw talent, Bolt ran at top speed and Dwayne Barrett and Pablo McNeil inspired him to expand on his speed and swagger. As he gotten better over the years, being that he was a gifted runner, he won his first silver medal in the 200 meters with a time of 22.04 seconds at the annual high school championships in 2001 and rose as a star rather quickly.
As the years went by, Bolt finished with a best of 48.28 seconds in the 400 meters and won a silver medal at the CARIFTA Games in 2001, a Caribbean regional competition. Bolt would go on to record a time of 21.81 in the 200 meters and earned a silver medal — and raced at the 2001 IAAF World Youth Championships in Debrecen, Hungary, a world level event in which he never qualified for the 200 meters final. The amazing thing is, he still finish with a time of 21.73 seconds, for a personal best. The matchups would become effortless each time, and other runners had no shot against Bolt, unable to keep pace with the speediest man alive, unable to cross the finish line without being exhausted and overworked by trying to outdistance him. At every opportunity, Bolt was more noteworthy and faster than before, and had impressive numbers at the Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships, setting the record of 20.61 seconds and 47.12 seconds in the event.
By then, they surely knew who Bolt was after those extraordinary races, a sprinter who fuels on Gatorade and prepares and trains for the stiffest competition, even though his competitiveness and sturdiness has never been a problem during his superlative Olympic games. So respectfully, with all that has happened in his teenage days, Bolt’s work ethic, rigorous preparations and workouts have benefited in his favor, such as the time he won a gold and two silver medals at the age 15 when he raced at the 2002 World Junior Championships in Kingston. Beginning his new journey Bolt was the center of national attention and acclamation for his exceptional speed and performances.
After winning a gold medal at the 2003 World Youth Championships, plus breaking records in both the 400 and 200 meters in his last Jamaican High School Championships with 45.30 seconds and 20.25 seconds, he was advertised as the fastest athlete in the world and had been distinguished as a top-notch runner. Favored to dominate in his particular sport, though he’s been struggling with leg and back problems, Bolt is focused and poised in effort to heighten his legacy and represent his native homeland as one of the greatest to ever run for Jamaica, where he is a beloved icon. You can see Bolt’s sense of responsibility four years later. By flashing back, he was arrogant and a showboat as it was a turnoff for many, and he wasn’t the most likable guy around the globe. It’s in his nature suddenly to avoid premature celebrations and compete at the highest level.
And behind it all, entering the 2012 London Games, Bolt is likely vulnerable to plunge to his rival, training partner Yohan Blake, who beat the world’s dangerous sprinter twice at Jamaica’s Olympic trials. The day he set a personal best in the 100 with his finish in 9.75, Blake, in retrospect, was the subject of many regards and gleamed at a moment that Bolt was doubted and questioned. But, to get a few things straight, he is still a menace and is certain he can heal his disappointments and struggles to put fear in the hearts of every runner, including his Jamaican team member, Blake. And more than anyone — the culture of Jamaican sports, the love of running, the investment of conditioning and exhausted training and discipline and the second nature of their heritage — Bolt is simply the best.
If he prevails, he can easily be one of Olympics most gracious athletes and fastest all time. And Bolt, meanwhile, owns 100m and 200m Olympic titles. His moment perfectly came in 2008 when he shattered the world record and won the 100m effortlessly in Beijing. The most perceptible thing about Bolt, besides that he’s mercurial and speedy and can amass gold, silver and bronze medals on his quest to complete a race with the most wondrous track time, is his blatant 6ft 5in frame and blazing vehemence. He has chicken nuggets for his pre-race meal, an unhealthy diet that fuels him to race at such an all-time high. For years now, he’s been known to be “Lightning Bolt,” a trademark that perfectly fits his brand. At age 25, he’s feeling good and can produce astonishing performance to shatter his own world-record 9.69 seconds in the 100. Ricky Simms, Bolt’s agent, told reporters about two weeks ago that Bolt had no tightness in his hamstring and has returned to high-speed, not hindered by chronic back problems or leg injuries.
It’s hard, though he’s nursing injuries that can have a damaging impact on him, to dismiss a runner as good as Bolt. It wouldn’t be right, nor smart to rule out the world’s fastest sprinter, injured or not, because he’s recorded three faster times this year alone. He isn’t worried but disbelievers are left to wonder if he can avert poor starts.
But a couple of days away from another Olympic appearance, Bolt has a chance to not only dominate, but also an opportunity, a golden opportunity to accumulate a large number of gold medals if he runs proficiently and briskly. If that someone can achieve, it’s no one other than Usain Bolt.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Shocking Result: Tyson Gay Upsets “Fastest Man in the World” Usain Bolt
In a surprising finish to many, defending World Record holder, and Olympic champion Usain Bolt of Jamaica was upset by the United States Tyson Gay, who beat the “Fastest Man in the World” by an astonishing .13 seconds to win the 100 Meter heat posting a 9.84 time to Bolt’s disappointing 9.97.
Bolt first rocked the world at the 2008 Beijing Olympics when he won Gold in both the 100 Meter and 200 Meter races, becoming the first man since Carl Lewis did it in 1984 to sweep both Olympic sprints.
He electrified the world even further when he proceeded to set a new world record last August at the world championships in Berlin with a nearly unbelievable time of 9.58 in the 100 Meter race.
Coming into these events, most thought he would easily win out over Gay, as he’d ran faster even this year than Gay’s winning time in this meet, posting a 9.82 time just a month ago in Lausanne, Switzerland.
As the race approached, the fans became silent, and their anxiety likely increased when there were two false starts prior to the race finally being run.
Once the race did begin, for the first stretch of the race, it seemed like it would end like all the others Bolt had taken part in, with him being the victor. Usain and Gay raced side by side in lanes four and five, and there was nothing immediately to indicate this would be an upset.
However, as the race progressed Gay seemed far more comfortable in his strides and in total control of the race, while Bolt seemed unusually uncomfortable.
Whatever the cause of this, the American pulled away from the Jamaican as Usain struggled to keep up.
“I think it showed that I wasn’t in the best of shape,” Bolt said after the race about his struggles. “I’m not unbeatable. I can be beaten and it showed today.”
Tyson Gay wasn’t crowing about the win afterward, though, recognizing Bolt’s physical struggles aided him in the win when he said, “I’m really happy with the win, even though Usain Bolt isn’t in the best shape It was very important to beat someone like that for the fans and the sport.”
It was even more of an upset to some because of the fact Gay had been struggling a bit of late. However, he has apparently now put himself right into the mix for the 2012 Olympic Games, and will easily be seen as one of the favorites, along with Bolt, to medal. Hopefully he can do well in those games and possibly beat Bolt again and take gold.
Bolt isn’t conceding that possibility, though, or losing to Gay or anyone else in the future.
“This is my easy season,” he added. “If you don’t beat me this season it’s not going to happen next season because next year is a championship year.”
Yet, with this win, despite Bolt’s apparent physical struggles, Gay has once again showed he’s one of the world’s top runners, and has shown he isn’t done yet.
In fact, he’s just getting started.
Race Notes: Richard Thompson of Trinidad placed third, posting a 10.10 time in the meet. Asafa Powell of Jamaica was forced to drop out Wednesday due to a back injury. This denied fans the chance to see the world’s “three” fastest men face each other.
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