BEIJING – Just winning the Olympic men’s 100-meter race was not enough for Usain Bolt. The Jamaican runner had to increase the degree of difficulty.
So he obliterated his own world record with a stomach full of McDonalds, his left shoelace untied and a celebration before he crossed the finish line.
Meet the newest “World’s Fastest Man.”The 6-foot-5 runner who turns 22 Thursday made a joke out of track and field’s glamour event. What was supposed to be a three-man showdown turned into Bolt’s personal showcase.
Bolt broke his own world record with a time of 9.69, two-tenths of a second faster than second-place Richard Thompson, tying the widest margin of victory in the Olympic 100. Now imagine what that time would be if he ran the entire race.
Bolt started in the pack, then took off with about 50 meters left taking a huge lead on the field. With the finish line approaching, Bolt slowed down and looked to his right. He then extended his arms with several strides left before pounding his chest.
“It wasn’t planned,” Bolt said. “My aim was to come out and win. When I saw the time, I’m celebrating. I’m happy.”His left shoelace was flapping untied as he crossed the line and afterward he said he ate Chicken McNuggets twice yesterday.
Thompson saw Bolt take off from the pack, then watched amazed as he saw him coast to the finish.
“I could see him slowing down and I’m still pumping to the line,” Thompson said laughing. “He’s a phenomenal athlete. I don’t think there’s any way anyone could have beaten him with a run like that today.”The race was supposed to be a three-way sprint between Bolt, his countryman Asafa Powell and American Tyson Gay. Instead, Gay didn’t even qualify for the final and Powell finished fifth.
Doping questions will surround Bolt simply because of the way he won and the sport’s history over the last two decades.
“I couldn’t care less about the rumors anymore,” said Dr. Herb Elliott, the man in charge of the Jamaican drug-testing program. “We have been tested. We have been tested. We have been tested. We just passed an anti-doping law that if you fool around in Jamaica you can go to prison.”His two-tenths of a second margin of victory tied Bob Hayes in 1964 and Carl Lewis in 1984 for the biggest ever.
Millions watched the race in Jamaica, where large screens were set up in public for those without TVs to watch. The country has a proud sprinting tradition but this was its first men’s 100-meter gold.
“It has put us on top of the world,” Jamaican minister of sport Olivia Grange. “What this has said to us is it’s not about your size but it is about the opportunity to achieve. As a little country, we’re not intimidated by size. In fact it’s a challenge and we always rise to the occasion.”After the race Bolt received a call from prime minister Bruce Golding, and a celebration is planned when he returns home. Bolt could return with more hardware. He still has the 200-meter race and 4×100-meter race left here.
When he gets home, Grange said his popularity will be nearly unrivaled.
“He will be as popular in Jamaica as Bob Marley,” she said.