Usain Bolt - Freak of nature
Wednesday, 20 Aug 2008 17:29
Usain Bolt - the fastest man on earth
The fastest man on earth is always someone that has something special about them.
And Jamaica's Usain Bolt, who has broken the two most prestigious world records at the top competition in athletics in the space of two days, is no exception.
The statistics -
100m gold, 9.69 secs; 200m gold, 19.30 secs - speak for themselves.
But Bolt, the man, is something of a freak in terms of his physical, and mental, makeup.
Not only is he 6ft 5in - about six inches too tall, according to the international sprinters' manual - and in possession of a stride length that would make most long and high jumpers blush, Bolt also has the exuberance of youth on his side.
When he should have had the weight of the world's expectation on his shoulders, having smashed the 100m world record with ease on two days earlier, Bolt set about clowning around on his way out into the Beijing arena on Wednesday night.
Ahead of his remarkable performance in the 200m, Bolt stood at his blocks making eyes at the TV cameras and playing up to the crowd inside the Bird's Nest Stadium - every single one of them expecting to see something spectacular.
And then, on top of everything, the man with the golden boots delivered.
Breaking a world record in itself is not something that happens every day. But Michael Johnson's 12-year-old record over 200m was something that many people, myself included, thought would not be broken for generations.
No one had ever been below 19.6 secs since Johnson in Atlanta 1996, let alone get close to the American's remarkable run.
But Bolt proved he is one of a kind by surpassing all expectations, and on the biggest stage of them all.
He also did it running into a headwind so, in theory, the kid can go even faster. Wow.
He may not be the greatest dancer in the world. But there is no denying his position as the world's fastest man, the world's greatest (and most freakish) physical specimen, and the top showman in world athletics.
Usain Bolt - take a bow. A legend and part of athletics history before his 22nd birthday.
Alistair Potter