As an athlete in the sprints, Usain Bolt is admired and classified as the greatest of all time (GOAT), but he’s much more than that.
He brought humor, fun and games, showmanship, and entertainment to the sport, which not only benefited himself but proved a blessing for many others, even his competitors.
Hailing from Sherwood Contest in Trelawny, Bolt would rise up through the ranks, joining a select few who would have triumphed at the world youth, junior and senior levels.
And it was on those stages that he shone brightest, being the world record holder of the100m, 200m and a part of the 4x100m relay events.
He is an eight-time Olympic Games gold medalist (he lost one through the disqualification of a teammate in the 4x100m relay) and the only sprinter to win the sprint double at the Olympics on three occasions (2008, 2012 and 2016). He also won the 4x100m relays on each of those occasions, with the one disqualification being the only blot on his copybook.
But he not only won events on the world stage, he had a tendency to break records, also as he did in the sprint double at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and the World Championships the following year in Berlin.
He became the first athlete to hold both 100m and 200m world records since fully automatic timing became compulsory.
He is an 11-time world champion, winning the sprint double and the 4x100m relays at the World Championships from 2009 through to 2015, except for his false-start in the 2011 final of the 100m. he became the first to win four-straight 200m at the World Championships and the 100m three times.
He still holds the men’s 100m world record at 9.58 seconds; the men’s 200m world record at 19.19 seconds and the men’s 4x100m relay world record at 36.84 seconds.
Dubbed “Lightning Bolt”, the lists of his awards include the IAAF World Athlete of the Year, Track & Field Athlete of the Year; BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year (three times), and Laureus World Sportsman of the Year (four times).
He was included in Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2016.
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