Usain Bolt

Person in the News - Usain Bolt

 

From the humble beginnings of a small community in Trelawny, Jamaica, Usain Bolt was crowned king of the sprint world when he achieved the coveted Olympic sprint double at the 29th Olympiad in Beijing.

 

He stunned the world on August 16 when he produced an exhilarating performance, as he stormed to victory in the marquee 100 metres, in a new world record time of 9.69 seconds.

 

Then, on August 20th, a mere 24 hours before his 22^nd birthday, Bolt achieved the unthinkable when he destroyed his field in the 200 metres final, breaking American Michael Johnson’s seemingly untouchable 12-year record of 19.32 seconds, to set a new mark of 19.30 seconds.

 

The feat wrote Bolt’s name indelibly into history’s pages as he became only the second runner in 24 years to achieve the honour.

 

He capped off the historic Games when, as a member of Jamaica’s sprint relay team, he helped them clinch gold again in world record time.

 

What was even more exhilarating was the dominant fashion in which Bolt achieved his victories. In both sprints, he seemed like a man with no equal, nonchalantly dismissing his field on both occasions.

 

His rise to prominence, however, was not meteoric. He had long ago signalled greatness when in 2004 at the CARIFTA Games in Bermuda, he smashed the world junior 200 metres record, jetting to a breathtaking 19.93 seconds.

 

Two years earlier, at the World Junior Championships, Bolt had also won the 200 metres impressively, becoming the youngest world junior gold medallist ever, at age 15.

 

He went on to dominate several national, regional and extra-regional meetings, sprinting to impressive wins and setting a plethora of new records.

 

Though he struck success in 2004, it was also a year of disappointment as a hamstring injury curtailed what could have been a successful season. And although he competed at the Athens Olympics later that year, he was eliminated in the first round of the 200 metres.

 

Bolt’s career took a turn for the better in 2005 when, with a new coach in Glen Mills and a new approach, he began to show glimpses of his earlier form.

 

In that same year, he clocked his season’s best in the 200 metres when he stormed to 19.99 seconds at a meeting at London’s Crystal Palace.

 

Following a series of injuries that scuppered his progress again, 2008 proved to be an astounding year for Bolt.

 

Taking a liking to the 100 metres, an event he had never really specialised in before, Bolt clocked the second fastest 100 metres time ever when he was stopped at 9.76 seconds at the Jamaica Invitational in May.

 

Later that month in New York City, he posted a new World record of 9.72 seconds, eclipsing countryman Asafa Powell’s mark of 9.74 seconds.

 

A foretaste of what awaited the world, Bolt unveiled his true potential in Beijing.

 

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