Usain Bolt Biography

 

 

usain boltUsain Bolt became one of the most celebrated sportsman after his record breaking runs in the Olympic Games of 2008, where he won three gold medals and set records at 100m and 200m.

Usain was born on 21 August 1986 in Sherwood Content, a small town in Trelawny, Jamaica. As a youngster he was mostly interested in sports, spending time playing football, cricket and basketball. At one time he considered a career as a cricketer, but, his natural talent for sprinting shone through and so he was encouraged to take the path of sprinting. At 15 years old, Usain already towered over his fellow competitors. Growing to a height of 6 foot 5 inches, Usain showed a sprinted need not be short and powerful like previous sprinting greats. In 2002, he won Gold in the World Junior Championships in the 200 metres.

At this stage in his career, Usain appeared to give the impression of being quite laid back. He didn't lead an austere disciplined life, but, enjoyed dancing and the nightlife of Kingston, Jamaica. However, he was still training hard and won Gold at the World Youth Championship in the next year at 2003.

In 2004, Bolt turned professional, under the guidance of new coach Fitz Coleman. He began his career with the CARIFTA Games in Bermuda. He became the first junior sprinter to break 20 seconds for the 200 metres. By 2005, Usain had a new coach Glen Mills who encouraged Usain to take a more professional approach and not just rely on his natural talent. Over the next few years, injury setbacks curtailed his career, but, he was still able to climb up the rankings. His big breakthrough came in the 2007 World Championships where he gained silver in the 200m and 4*100 metre relay.

Bolt established a new 100 m world record on 31 May 2008. Pushed on by a tail wind of 1.7 m/s, Bolt ran 9.72 s at the Reebok Grand Prix held in the Icahn Stadium in New York City, breaking Powell's record.

Usain went into his first Olympic Games as one of the favourites, despite his youth and inexperience at major championships.

usain boltUsain Bolt proved to be the revelation of the games. Easing through to the finals of both the 100m and 200m, he set the games alight with his electrifying display in both finals.

In the 100metres final, Usain powered ahead so quickly in the first 60m, he was able to ease off and celebrate in the last few metres. His dominance, audacity and youthful enthusiasm captivated the global audience. In some quarters he was criticised for celebrating before end of line. But, Usain's dominance and speed were unquestioned. His time of 9.69 was a world record, and if he had kept going to the end, he could have perhaps gone under 9.60

In the 200 metres, Usain again won gold and even more surprisingly broke Michael Johnson's long standing world record.

By the next World Championships in Berlin 2009, Usain was able to again dominate all the sprint events winning a clean sweep at the 100m, 200m and 100m relay. Again he set remarkable World Record times, lowering the time for 100 metres to 9.58 and 19.19 for 200 metres

On the last day of the Berlin Championships, the governing Mayor of Berlin, Klaus Wowereit, presented Bolt with a 12-foot high section of the Berlin Wall in a small ceremony, saying Bolt had shown that “one can tear down walls that had been considered as insurmountable.”

Usain Bolt World Record Video

 

Bolt wins in 9.58 to beat his own record

Personal Bests

100m: 09.58 s (WR, Berlin 2009)
150m: 14.35 s (WB, Manchester 2009)
200m: 19.19 s (WR, Berlin 2009)
400m: 45.28 s (Kingston 2007)

 

Olympic Results

World Championships