If sports had soundtracks, sprinters from the world of track and field would run to techno/hip-hop hybrid music, full of fast beats, pounding bass drums and energetic vocals. From start to finish, the 100m dash is intense as the athletes grit, grimace and gallop violently down the track. However, with the London Olympic games fast-approaching, Usain Bolt, the man whose stride is as smooth as a Coltrane saxophone solo, aims to race to a different beat, right into Olympic lore.
Going into the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, Bolt was largely unknown outside of the track and field circuit. The young, lanky 6’5” Jamaican sprinter was a 200m specialist but his coach Glen Mills saw the potential to turn Bolt into the best 400m runner in the world. Whether it was the lack the glamour or the brutal nature of what many consider to be the toughest event in track, Bolt resisted the 400m. Like Ricky Bobby, the aptly-named Bolt wanted to go fast. Hoping it would energize his protégé and add explosiveness needed for the 200m, Mills relented and began training Bolt in the 100m as well.
The payoff was shocking and immediate. In only his fifth 100m race on the senior-circuit, Bolt came out of nowhere to break the world-record just a few months before the summer games. Then, on the world’s biggest stage, Bolt shattered three world records in Beijing in the 4x100m relay, American legend Michael Johnson’s 200m record and lastly bested his own 100m record despite slowing down to celebrate well before crossing the finish line. An Olympic legend was born.
Bolt’s affable nature and boastful ways helped turn him into a bona fide celebrity. His dominance on the track made him seem invincible. His long, smooth stride frequently left his competitors in his trail winds. Similar to Tiger Woods in his prime, it seemed that Bolt’s competitors were simply racing for second-place and third-place, hoping to stand on the podium beneath the fastest man on the planet.
Though his fellow countryman Asafa Powell and American Rudy Gay were always fast enough to keep Bolt on his toes, it was always clear the Bolt was the alpha dog on the scene. Over the past four years, the sprinter has had bouts with bad starts, a bad back and on/off hamstring issues, but he always seemed to get the job done – until recently.
In the Jamaican trials leading up to London, Bolt was shocked in both the 100m and the 200m by teammate, friend and new kid on the block Yohan Blake. But while Blake’s winning times were impressive (9.75s/100m, 19.29s/200m), they don’t compare to Bolt’s world-record times (9.58s and 19.19s). Bolt also appeared to labor through those runs, fighting to achieve high speed rather than gliding effortlessly through it as in the past.
Rumors have run rampant as to reasons for the recent letdown and less-than-stellar performances. Injuries, hard partying and discomfort with the new starting blocks have been blamed. For his part, Bolt is making no excuses, but taking precautionary measures to ensure he’s at his best to put on a show for the three billion viewers expected to tune into the Olympics.
He pulled out of what would have been his final tune-up for what was called a minor injury. He’s reportedly put a kibosh on partying and various endorsement activities to focus on the task at hand – cementing his status as one of the greatest Olympians in history. According to Mills, the time off has helped him heal. Bolt also bought a set of the new starting blocks in order to get familiar with them before stepping on the big stage.
Blake’s recent victories have have made a captivating storyline and catapulted him into the limelight. He’s undoubtedly looking to make his own sweet music down the track, complete with golden cymbals around his neck. But if Bolt is truly focused and injury-free, he’s unbeatable. If he can once again find his smooth, rhythmic strike on the world’s biggest stage, the world’s fastest man won’t play second fiddle to anyone. Either way, the world will be listening with its eyes.
