Belmont and Belcourt Biographies - Usain Bolt: An Unauthorized Biography

U SAIN B OLT

An Unauthorized Biography

Copyright 2012 by Belmont & Belcourt Biographies

All rights reserved. Neither this book nor any parts within it may be sold or reproduced in any form without permission.

eISBN: 9781619841833

Table of Contents

Standing alongside his fellow countrymen, he readies himself to walk amongst other top athletes from around the world. Since he was a young boy, he dreamed of one day presenting himself to the world during the Olympics. Today is that day.

Hearing his countrys national anthem begin to play, emotions begin to fill his soul, tears swell his eyes. As flashbulbs pop like lightening bugs in a forest of frantic fans, he reflects back on his younger years. The childhood years of playing in the street outside his parents grocery store with his brother. The years of living and breathing nothing but sports, especially the sport he holds so dear to his heart. The sport that has defined him as a man. The sport that will allow him to take his rightful place in the record books.

However, he realizes that he must not reflect too much on his past, for the present is something to cherish and enjoy. He worked all his life for an opportunity others can only dream of. He must do well not only for his country, but for those who had the desire to achieve this goal but not the skill to accomplish it.

In a few short hours, He will place his hands on the starting line, his feet planted firmly in the starting blocks. He will enjoy this time with his countrymen, for when the starting pistol makes its announcement, he will leave all others behind.

In this book, you will be taken on a journey from Usain Bolts childhood home in Sherwood Content to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and back again to his home in Kingston, Jamaica. All the heartaches, injuries, joys, and achievements will be told and you too will discover why Usain Bolt is rewriting the record books.

From Small Town to World Stage

Manners are the key thing. Say, for instance, when you're growing up, you're walking down the street, you've got to tell everybody good morning. Everybody. You can't pass one person.

--Usain Bolt

On August 21, 1986, in the small town of Sherwood Content, which is located in the Trelawny section of Jamaica, Usain Bolt came into the world. His father, Wellesley and his mother, Jennifer owned a small grocery store in Sherwood Content. This is where Bolt would learn the value of hard work and of having a sense of pride in whatever you do. Wellesley and Jennifer had their three children, their two sons Usain and Sadiki, and their daughter, Shrine, help them run the small family business.

It was very apparent at an early age that Bolt had an obsession with sports, particularly with cricket, basketball and soccer. He would spend hours outside of the family store in the street, playing these sports with his two siblings. During interviews as an adult, Bolt would be quoted as saying that he never really thought about anything other than sports.

His obsession with sports was demonstrated in the way he played them. He would always push himself, and others, to perform at the highest level they could. Even in the athletic field of running, Bolt showed tremendous talents at a young age. When he was an elementary school student at Waldensia Primary and All-age School, he began entering regional races. He would first be recognized for his speed in the annual national primary-school meet, held at his school. By the age of twelve, he was well known throughout the area as one of the fastest runners and soon found himself the fastest runner at his school in the 100 meter race. As history reflects, the world would soon realize the speed that this gifted athlete had stored within himself.

During Bolts early years of athletics, he showed a natural talent for the game of cricket, which he still avidly plays to this day. During his first experiences with organized team sports, Bolt had a natural athletic ability in everything he did. His first dream was to become a professional cricketer. His speed during the pitch was remarkable and he was an outstanding bowler. However, due to his tremendous speed, his cricket coach suggested he try out his talents on the track. From that point on, Bolt fell in love with running. He enjoyed the fact that with running, there wasnt a point system that people could argue about. It was simply the clock that was raced against and whatever time it showed, that was the resultno argument needed. The clock showed who had won, and who had lost, plain and simple.

The two track and field coaches at William Knibb Memorial High School, former Olympic sprinting athlete Pablo McNeil and Dwayne Narrett, continued to develop Bolts abilities. They instructed him to focus his energy on improving his natural athletic abilities.

William Knibb Memorial High School had a long history of athletic success with prior students. Former Olympic sprinter Michael Green also went to William Knibb Memorial before attending Clemson University on a scholarship. In 2001, when Bolt was fourteen years of age, he would win his first medal, a silver medal, at his school by running in the 200-meter race and posting a time of 22.04 seconds. Soon after that race, Bolt would only have one primary running coach, Pablo McNeil. The two enjoyed working together, even though Pablo would get fairly upset with Bolts occasional lack of dedication to his training and the occasional practical joke that he would pull on people. Even though he seemed to not always be serious about his training regimen, Bolts size, strength, and naturally-gifted speed kept him moving toward the top for considerations in elite sprinting prospects.

While appearing to be focused on a sprinting career, Bolt still harbored dreams of becoming a professional cricket player. As his sprinting reputation grew, people began mentioning him alongside sprinting greats that had attended the same high school, such as Michael Green. This was a tremendous shock to the people that knew Bolt when he was a small child. Although he did enjoy sports of all types, his main focus had been cricket. One of the first athletes he idolized was the Pakistani cricket star, Waqar Younis. While Bolt was growing up, friends and family naturally assumed that he would one day become a professional cricketer, especially considering his tremendous cricket talents. However, fate would have different plans for Bolt.

Later in 2001, Bolt would win more silver medals at his first Caribbean regional event, the CARIFTA Games. During that event, he would set another personal best in the 400 meters by clocking an impressive 48.28 seconds and yet another personal best in the 200 meters by stopping the clock at 21.81 seconds. Both would garner him silver medals for the events.

His first world stage event would take place at the 2001 IAAF World Youth Championships held in Debrecen, Hungary. Bolt would taste defeat for the first time there by not qualifying for the 200-meter event. Even though he still posted another personal best time of 21.73 seconds, he soon realized that he was no longer the fastest runner on the track.

Always the practical joker and never taking athletics too seriously, Bolt found himself in trouble with not only his coach, but also the police. During the trials for the upcoming 2002 CARIFTA Games, from which he had taken home two silver medals the year before, he hid in the back of a van. A ruckus started due to his disappearance, and he would later be discovered by the police and detained. This practical joke landed his coach, Pablo McNeil, in the center of a public outcry. Claims of McNeil not being able to control his athlete would be heard throughout the community. However, since things like this happen, the community soon quieted and Bolt and McNeil went on to the 2002 CARIFTA Games.