Usain Bolt - The Fastest Man Alive: The True Story of Usain Bolt

EDITORS NOTE

Usain Bolt shocked the world when he set a new world record in the 2008 Olympics with a time of 9.69 in the 100-meter dash. He went on to win two more gold medals in the 200-meter dash and 4x100-meter relay, both as world records. From that moment on, Usain Bolt was a household name.

While most Olympians would see this as the pinnacle of their career, for Bolt it was only the beginning. In the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, he destroyed his world records in the 100- and 200-meter dash (9.58 in the 100 and 19.30 in the 200).

As the 2012 Olympics in London were approaching, people started wondering if the phenomenon that was Bolt would be able to continue. He was disqualified from the 100-meter dash at the 2011 World Championships with a false start, and narrowly escaped with his life when he crashed his car in June, which was not his first accident.

With all eyes watching, Bolt stepped up to the starting line with some stiff competition. The U.S. had three big-name competitors in Justin Gatlin, Tyson Gay, and Ryan Bailey. Richard Thompson (Trinidad and Tobago), who had won the silver in the previous Olympics, also was ready to dethrone the champ. With a bulls-eye on his back, Bolt not only won the race, but shattered his previous Olympic record by 0.06 and beat out his fellow countryman, Yohan Blake, by an amazing 0.12 seconds.

After such an impressive victory, Bolt followed-up the 100-meter with something that nobody had ever done before in Olympic historyhe defended his 200-meter title and won gold for the second time in that event. Bolt finished in 19.32 seconds, which was just a shade off the Olympic record, and compatriots Yohan Blake and Weir Warren finished with the silver and bronze.

Although Bolt still had a race to go, everyone could not stop talking about his incredible 100-meter dash finish, as well as his being the first Olympian to win back-to-back sprint doubles. The fact that he has been able to continually show up in big situations (and no situation is bigger than the Olympics), proves that he doesnt just want to win races, but also to dominate his competition.

The legend of Usain Bolt is still being written, but at this point in his career, he has not only exceeded expectations, but has blown them away. Nobody knows what the future has in store for Usain, but at this point in time, he is not only the fastest man on Earth, but has proven himself to be the epitome of excellence and a national hero for the country of Jamaica.

August, 2012

Waldensia Primary School

Head of Sports, William Knibb High School

USAIN BOLT THE FASTEST MAN in the world. Never, ever do I get tired of hearing that. If you lined up a hundred people and asked them who the best basketball player in the world is, the best soccer player, or the best cricketer, it is unlikely they would provide the same answer. But ask any of them, Who is the best sprinter in the world? and there is only one answer Usain Bolt. Why? Because that is what it says on the clock. There can be no dispute or argument. The record books say that over the 100 meters flat race, the true measure of human speed, Im the fastest person that ever lived, completing the distance, as I did at the World Championships in Berlin, in 9.58 seconds.

It is said that the population of the earth is 6.8 billion and that approximately 107 billion have lived on this planet since man came into being. It doesnt get any cooler than knowing you are the fastest of them all.

I chose to be a sprinter, not only because I was the fastest kid in school, but also because I knew that politics couldnt interfere. In team sports it can be down to opinion whether you are the best. One coach might think youre good enough for his team, another might not, or the side could be picked on friendship or family ties. But in athletics you are either the fastest or you arent opinion doesnt come into it.

We had a grass track at the front of Waldensia Primary School, which is still there, exactly as it was, with a two-foot dip at the end of the straight, and when I first raced on it a guy named Ricardo Geddes would beat me. One day the sports coach, Devere Nugent, bet me a lunch that I could beat Ricardo. I like my food, so it was a big incentive. I won, enjoyed a nice meal, and never lost to Ricardo again. Winning that race was my first experience of the thrill of beating your closest rival, and from that day on my motto has always been Once Ive beaten you, you wont beat me again. There was quite a sporting rivalry between me and Ricardo, and I told him he should keep going with athletics but, like most kids in Jamaica, he wanted to play football, which he still does for one of the clubs on the island.