Regarded as the fastest human ever timed, he is the first man to hold both the 100 metres and 200 metres world records since fully automatic time became mandatory. He also holds the world record as a part of the 4 × 100 metres relay. A reigning World and Olympic champion in these three events. Due to his exceptional dominance and achievements in the athletic field, he is widely considered the greatest sprinter of all time!
So How Did it All Start?
He grew up in small town Trelawny, Jamaica with his parents Wellesley and Jennifer, as well as his brother and sister, Sadiki and Sherine. Born to Jennifer and Wellesley Bolt on 21st August 1986 in Jamaica, he was one of the three children born to the couple. His parents managed to make ends meet by managing a shop where mostly grocery was sold.
As a young boy, he was enrolled at an institution named ‘Waldensia Primary’ for his primary education. He was known for being a good-sprinter during his time there and even won many ‘10 metre’ running contests at this institution.
He later moved to the ‘William Knibb Memorial High School’, where he started playing sports such as Cricket. During his extracurricular activities, a coach mentoring the kids who were interested in sports noticed that he would be a better athlete than a cricketer. He then encouraged him to try out athletics
The Journey Begins…..
The young lad soon participated in the 200 metres racing event in school, which he finished in a matter of just 22.04 seconds! Awesome right? He participated in four Olympics Games and has won 9 gold medals.
At the 2004 Athens Olympics, he was hampered by a leg injury and was eliminated in the first round of the 200 metres.
At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, he won gold medals in 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay, with the timings of 9.69 seconds, 19.30 seconds and 37.10 seconds respectively.
At the 2012 London Olympics, he repeated this feat once again. He won 100m in 9.63 seconds, 200m in 19.32 seconds and 4x100m relay in 36.84 seconds.
At the 2016 Rio Olympics, he once again won the gold medals in all the three events and achieved the “triple-triple”. He won 100m in 9.81 seconds, 200m in 19.78 seconds and 4x100m relay in 37.27 seconds.
In A Nutshell….
Usain Bolts, the fastest man alive did not travel his athletic and record breaking journey in a day, nor did he achieve stardom in an instant. He started young! Hence the saying “Start them young”. This means that his athletic career did not start with “abracadabra”. As a boy his parents had deliberately encouraged him in that path that led to greatness!
How are you gearing yours?
