- 16 Aug 08, 07:17 PM
Beijing
You knew from the moment he stood by his blocks, seconds before the start of the most hyped 100m in history, and posed like a man messing about in a club with his mates.
It's the Olympic final. You're supposed to be shaking inside, aware that you're about to go through the 10 seconds that could define the rest of your life.
There are 90,000 people staring down at you from all sides of the stadium, billions more watching around the world on television.
Usain Bolt's performance on Saturday night was unbelievable, in the most flabbergasted, mouths-agape sense of the word.
These races are won by hundredths of a second, by dips on the line, by the width of a vest. They're not won by chasms.
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When Bolt's world record time flashed up on the in-field scoreboard at the Bird's Nest, people actually started laughing.
It was that astonishing, that implausible.
This was only the ninth competitive 100m Bolt has ever run. He wasn't even sure if he'd be running in this race a fortnight ago, and that was when his coach told him that he would.
To explode down the track and run that time, not even trying for the last 15 metres, holding his arms out wide and virtually talking to the crowd, simply defies belief.
But, from the moment he walked out onto the brightly-lit stadium floor, Bolt looked ready to rip up the rule-book.
When pounding, portentous music was played over the PA system as the athletes peeled off their tracksuits pre-race, Bolt started throwing dancehall shapes even as Asafa Powell looked sick with anxiety.
When the starter called the finalists to their blocks and a total hush fell over the rammed-to-the-rafters stadium, the only noise the clattering helicopter overhead, Bolt appeared to be singing to himself.
As he flashed across the line a few seconds later, the fastest human being who's ever lived, he punched his chest, pulled up his bright yellow vest to show off his sprinter's six-pack and roared with delight as the steepling stands roared back at him.
You can try to put this run into context, but there isn't one.
The closest you can get is Michael Johnson's 19.32secs for the 200m in Atlanta 12 years ago, also done in golden spikes. But that was achieved by a man aged 29, at the peak of his powers, after years and years of running the event.
Bolt is 21. It's the first senior 100m final of his life.
The 100m world record isn't generally broken in Olympic finals. Of the last eight records set, only one came at an Olympics - Donovan Bailey's 9.84secs in 1996.
In Beijing, Bolt had a start that was at best average, with six of his opponents reacting quicker to the gun that he did.
There wasn't even a following wind, unlike in May, when he was blown along by a tailwind of +1.7m/s as he ran 9.72secs in New York.
On Saturday night, the Olympic flag hung limply from its pole.
How fast could he have run with a breeze at his back, pushing hard all the way to the line? 9.66? 9.65?
These are numbers that seemed utterly impossible even a few days ago. Now, for Bolt, they're within reach.
Maybe we shouldn't be surprised. Bolt has been a sprinting phenomenon ever since he went through puberty, shot up to 6ft 5in and started running times that created waves far outside his native Jamaica.
As a lanky 15-year-old from Trelawny, he became the youngest ever gold medallist at the World Juniors, storming to the 200m title and repeating the trick a year later.
Injury delayed his progression a little, as did the depth of 200m talent at senior level and the careful nurturing of his coach Glen Mills, but for most judges it was simply matter of when, not if.
For Bolt's two great adversaries ahead of Saturday's showdown, it was a night to throw away and forget about forever.
Powell, for three years the fastest sprinter in the world, the man who's gone under 9.80 seconds more times than anyone else in history, once again failed to deliver in a major championship final.
Even in his worst nightmares he couldn't have imagined running 9.95secs in the Olympic final, not even finishing on the podium.
For Tyson Gay it was even worse. Despite his claims to be back to his best, he failed to even make it through the semis to witness his rival make history first-hand.
Bolt now stands head and shoulders above every other sprinter, both physically and metaphorically.
Like Michael Phelps, he came into these Olympics as a mere sports star but will leave them as a global icon.
And let's not forget - the event he considers to be his best is still to come
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Wow
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This guy seems like someone with two hearts - he is supernatural!
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Bolt should be banned to make it more competitive :D
Its just not fair how amazing this guy is. He just shredded his rivals in the 100m and I would be surprised if he didn't break THAT time set by Michael Johnson 12 years ago in the 200m.
Bolt of lightning? Lightning isn't the word I'd use for it...
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What an incredible performance. Unforgettable. I think he could go far lower than the 9.65 you mention if he gave it everything for the whole distance, and his peak is still a long way ahead. A new era of sprinting is upon us.
As Michael Johnson said, tall athletes used to be warned off the sprints due to difficulties getting up to full speed quickly enough, but this may change everything.
A few people have mentioned Ben Johnson in 1988 and there are similarities in terms of performance. But I don't share the doubts, Johnson was a small athlete pumped to the gills with narcotics, even looking back at the pictures now it seems obvious. This guy has a length of stride that noone can compete with.
Can't wait for the 200....
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The 200m plus world record now seem a formality, and as long as they do not drop the baton the 4x100 should also belong to Jamaica, presuming Powell will run with him, they do not seem to be greatest mates. However, consider him as a 400m runner, he could almost jog round and post an impressive time - perhaps he will aim for this record as well at some time in the future. Are we seeing the beginning of one of the greatest ever athletes. Almost certainly unless there is something we do not know but always lurks in the world of sprinting
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It was breathtaking. Him and Phelps have really given life to the Olympics. The doping scandals of the past few years were really depressing me, but not anymore :)
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I can't help feeling that this must have been like watching Don Bradman play cricket at the height of his powers - here is a prodigy, a fluke of nature, and we'll never see better in our lifetime.
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However, consider him as a 400m runner, he could almost jog round and post an impressive time
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There's been talk of him starting training for the 400 next year. Just think at the next Olympics - 100m, 200m and 400m and 4x100m gold all possible (4x400m but this isn't likely as it seems America will dominate this for the next few years) all very much possible. That's some scary stuff.
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I have to be honest I was convinced the 100m final would be a let down after all the hype. How wrong was I?
It was a privilege to watch such theatre, roll on the 200!
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wow, what a run, am sure if he works really hard and runs flat out, he can break the 9 second barrier. The highlight of the olympics for me, awesome simply awesome.
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Once this man/boy gets his technique right and works on his start and concentration there's no reason why he couldn't run in the low 9's or dare I say it, sub 9 seconds!!!!
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Awesome!
I only hope that the also-rans can pick up their pace and give Bolt some decent competition in future. Otherwise he will just be racing against the clock.
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I bet he can't swim 800m in less than 9 minutes!
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I agree he can lower the record by a lot, but just remember that each .01 improvement becomes more difficult to achieve. No matter how fast you can run there is always the slow start to the race to include. I don't think a human will ever run it under 9s, unless we evolve further I suppose.
Was going to say that genetic engineering may achieve it gut I guess if you had to design a perfect sprinter you'd probably model it on him!
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"The 200m plus world record now seem a formality"
Are you kidding? Johnson's 19.32 is untouchable. Bolt hasn't even gone below 19.6, let alone below 19.5 , let alone 19.4, let alone 19.32. And unlike the 100m hes been running 200m for ages so hes had plenty of chances.
I expect him to get near 19.5, maybe less but the world record a formality? Hmmm..
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That has to be the only 100m finishing line photo which features the winner facing the camera, grinning and pounding his chest!
I couldn't believe it when he dropped his arms to celebrate 15 meters out from the line and was already doing 'high knees' and looking to the camera as he crossed the line. And then it was a WORLD RECORD for god's sake!!!
He seemed to get it perfect tonight, he was relaxed, supremely confident and on the kind of form which you can only wish for.
Part of me wishes he'd run 'full-on' straight through the line as we'd have witnessed a 100m World record completely blown apart. However we have all that to look forward to over the coming months and years.
I've followed the Olympic and World 100m since I was a teenager and seen some awesome performances, but that was truly, truly fantastic.
For every steroid-enhanced waster that has ever shamed this event, here was real talent - raw, confident, ballsy and absolutely without comparison.
I doubt I will ever tire of watching that 9.69 secs of magic.
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Enjoyed by billiions worldwide except anybody in the United States of America. Bloody useless TV coverage. It's not like this was the blue riband event of the WHOLE Olympics or anything....oh to have the BBC.
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Watch out you Brits... Usain Bolt's first love is still cricket. We will be drafting him in teh West Indies team as a fast bowler.
With that kind of speed, he is sure to generate some pace in the 105 MPH range or thereabouts.
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The horse well and truely "Bolt"ed ... awesome :-)
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There has to be a limit to how fast an athlete can run 100m. In recent years improvements in sports science, training techniques and the opportunity to earn big money has fine-tuned athletic ability to a new level.
I'd love to see Bolt run sub 9.5s, but I reckon sub 9 probably won't be achieved in the next 100 years...without genetic engineering!
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There's been talk of him starting training for the 400 next year. Just think at the next Olympics - 100m, 200m and 400m and 4x100m gold all possible (4x400m but this isn't likely as it seems America will dominate this for the next few years) all very much possible. That's some scary stuff.
____________
Heck, he could probably be a decent long jumper if he had a go at it!
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There have already been instances of gene therapy in sport. It cannot be long, if not already, that athletes and sprinters begin to use this technique to lower times.
The IOC already invest heavily in trying to combat this new threat, harder to detect than synthetic steroids, yet have little knowledge of how to detect such cheats.
While i am not claiming Bolt to be a gene freak, illegally atleast, i think as the 100 metre record continues to come down incrementally over the years, tied in with the advancement of this field, it will become increasingly more difficult to see who is a cheat and who is not.
Until that day however, hats off Usain. Hats off.
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#15, have to agree that a world record in the 200m is not a formality.
Johnson's 19.32 in Atlanta was freakish. It is the most unassailable record in athletics. This morning I was convinced I'd never live to see it broken. But now there is a chance...
You're right that Bolt hasn't yet gone sub 19.6. I think I'm right in saying nobody has ever, other than Johnson in Atlanta. That by itself is incredible, that no other runner has got within three tenths of the world record in 12 years.
I fully expect Bolt to go sub 19.6 in the 200m, but whether he can hit 19.3 remains to be seen. But when you consider that Johnson "only" clocked 10.12 for the first 100m, it's certainly not impossible for Bolt.
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what on earth is this muppet talking about 9.66/9.65 for ? If Bolt gets a just inside legal tail wind, someone to push him, runs flat out arms pumping to the line, some more experience, gets a wee bit older/stronger/more developed, trains fully for the 100 not the 200, a better start etc he is going to smash 9.66/65. Given all the above i would really like to know just how fast he could go, just how fast is it physically possible for a man to run??
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23 MPH to be exact. Considering this is a human being that is goddam fast........
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Just to put this into context this is almost exactly the same speed as Michael Johnsons 19.32s over 200m in Atlanta '96, a record many thought would never be broken. That record may go but its going to be close, the following few days will reveal all. Exciting stuff....
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better still give him all the performance enhancing drugs there is, take him to the highest ( elevation ) athletics track in the world - ecuador or bolivia i imagine and then start him 5 or so metres back so when he goes past the start line he is already motoring and then we'd see a 100 metre time to reckon with !!
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Lighting Bolt indeed.
"You're a Wizard Usain, a wizard."
He shouldn't change that much, he obviously enjoys his running and its working for him. He shouldn't go after the world records, they will fall if he continues the way he has.
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Talking about Bradman, as a young boy Usain's first sport was cricket which he later gave up for athletics. Cricket's loss is Track and field's gain.
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I think someone worked out a while back that the fastest 100m possible for humans is about 8.5 seconds, any faster and the muscle mass required and forces involved would break the legs.
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Bolt was, quite simply, awesome.
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Brilliant! I just hope he doesn't regret this chance to sprint flat out and create an even faster time.
Who knows what lies around the next corner?
Good luck to him and I hope he does a 9.5 sec 100m.
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"Are you kidding? Johnson's 19.32 is untouchable"
I would have thought that too. That night in Atlanta I can still just about remember as I was only 8 and it is really only with hindsight that I can appreciate Johnson's record now.
But I saw Bolt clock 19.76 at Crystal Palace and he eased off so early on I think that record is there to be broken.
The man seems intent on just beating the field and not the clock - I guess he can afford to at only 21. A part of me thinks if he doesn't ease off and really goes all out in the 200m he'll be mighty close to that 19.32.
I still feel, on the biggest stage in the world in the shape that he is in that he should have really gunned it in the 100m - he still had loads left.Who knows what could happen in the future regarding injury. Of course I hope to see him improve and dare I say it, get better but I know if I had that talent, confidence and fitness I'd really want to take full advantage and set a record that will stand for years. There is no greater stage than the Olympics to do your stuff. Some may say he set a world record that's incredible enough - I'm just saying I'dve liked to have seen him run for 100m - not 90m!
Still though - I'll never forget it! Well done Usain.
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Simply astonishing - Michael Johnson's reaction says it all!
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Wow...that's the most incredible piece of sport that I've ever seen.
I'm not one for overdoing it but I can't think of one piece of sporting history that matches that. The closest that I came up with was Tiger Woods winning the US Masters, aged 21, by 15 shots...but we all knew about Tiger Woods beforehand. However Bolt has come from nowhere in no time and delivered a performance that makes 9.49 a possibility in the next 5 years.
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lets hope he's clean
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We all knew he was fast but he is showing us just what he is - a once in a lifetime type athlete. If he stays healthy, I can't see anyone beating him for the next several years. With a bit of wind and running to the finish, 9:49 is possible based on this form.
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For everyone saying he should have gone flat out to set a lower time - I'd also have liked to see that, but remember he can make a lot of money breaking the record at events outside the Olympics, probably multi-million $ bonuses. It makes sense for him to lower it gradually in the professional era, sad as it sounds.
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A few years ago Linford Christie won a race in the rain, into a headwind which many people reckoned could have been something like a 9.74 had he had perfect conditions.
Well to put that into context, in perfect conditions I would imagine Bolt could be in sub 9.5 territory.
No high tech suits - no modification of the pool/track to produce anything faster than before.
(And yes I am having a go at the swimming for producing a facility and suits far superior to those used befored - the track is no better than others used for fast times).
Just pure sporting excellence.
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So there it is, folks.... Sad as it is to say IMO, but the ghost of Ben Johnson has finally been slain after 20 glorious/inglorious (depending on your point of view) years.
Was beginning to wonder if I'd ever see that (still!!) awesome - albeit drug-aided - 9.79 from Seoul ever topped, but it's finally happened.
To think until today, far as I'm aware, we had never seen anyone stop the clock lower in an Olympic or World final. Even the peak Mo Greene, a pitbull of a man, had failed to overhaul that monumental benchmark, coming 1/100th short in Seville back in '99, while the official Olympic Record prior was 'only' 9.84.
Well Ben, wherever you are right now, my man, you'll have to doff your hat to the true successor to your throne. We all know sub-9.8 times can be achieved in smaller meets, but doing it in the pressure-cooker environment of a major world final - drugs or no drugs - is something else entirely.
You set the benchmark for 20 years, like it or not people..... (and I, for one, could never get that mental image out of my mind), but long live the New King!
And by a FULL TENTH OF A SECOND :wow:
Words..... Just..... Fail.....
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It was one of those moments in sport that you'll remember forever. Yeah he could've lowered the record by even more had he run through the line, but how much more theatrical, how much more memorable, how much more special and how just plain cool to it with a nonchalant salute to a global audience.
If I was 13 instead of 30 it's the kind of performance that would make me dream of being an athlete. How lucky we all are to have witnessed it.
The only comparison that can be drawn is Michael's Johnson's 200m in Atlanta. The fact the Usain Bolt is capable of 9.69 but has yet to break 19.6 for the 200m just goes to show just what an amazing feat was achieved by MJ in Atlanta. UB will get that record too, but I don't think it will happen yet, at least it gives him something to aim for still.
Spare a thought for Asafa Powell too. Such a great athlete but yet seems destined never to prove it on the biggest stage. Since greatness is often forged in the fires of a great rivalry, one can only hope he bounces back from this, if only to give UB a run for his money.
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seriously can this guy actually sprint for the full 100 metres instead of stopping after 80! then we might see the first man under 9.5 seconds!
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I have to say that for all the wonder at Mark Spitz and Michael Phelps, as a single performance that eclipsed anything they did.
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Then again.....Chris Hoy today.....as a cyclist myself to be able to win off the front that easily is unheard of - People are in your slipstream so supposedly getting an advantage - and he still blew them away. Fantastic.
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i can do 9.69 too with the help of some magic powder wink wink......hopefully he wont be the same as ben johnson
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Usain Bolt, surely despite Phelps' great achievements, the moment of the games so far, but on a more dissapointing nite Asafa Powell, yet another failed final on the big scale
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Bolt's casual finish was the icing on the cake for this race. The style of his victory will be remembered as much as breaking the world record or winning gold.
I'm glad in a way that he held back and can wait in anticipation to see just how much faster he can go.
Meanwhile the chest-beating image at the finish line will be an iconic image of invincibility for years to come.
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ps amble exile, he is only young, imagine the feeling of destroying a great field in 50 metres, he wanted to celebrate
WOW
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I don't think Asafa Powell can cope with either the pressure or four rounds in two days.
But full marks to him for trying and for no excuses other than to say he just didn't have it on the day.
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Bolt is 21 and he ran 9.69 ! If he is around for 2012, and has improved I actually think sub 9.60 is VERY possible. Let's face it, the guy did not even get a great start and he was slowing up show boating 10m from the line- he could have gone sub 9.65 ! It is that stride, nobody can live with it once it gets going, unreal. Johnson, it is a matter of time before 19.32 gets broken. I predict Bolt to go 19.20!
funnily enough, Bolt ran a 400m once, did it in 45 seconds, at cruising pace- I think he will be the greatest of all time by 2012. No doubt.
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The only problem with Bolt being a potential 400m runner is that the swimming community will say "well now he has a chance of 5 medals - 7 if you include the hurdles - 8 if you include the long jump - and 9 if he can do the triple jump" - thats far more than Phelps......
As you can guess I strongly believe they need to have a good look at the way medals are awarded in swimming.
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I may not be quoting accurately but the mood of the comments I make is accurate.
My jaw drops at the crass questions being asked to contestants who are barely able to speak because of exursion or a visibly upset if not actually. crying.
The barely concealed questions asked many times are YOU COULD HAVE DONE BETTER WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?
THE OTHER CONTESTANTS ARE BETTER THAN YOU ARE HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THAT?
WE EXPETEC YOU TO DO A LOT BETTER WHY DIDN'T YOU?
I am paraphrasing but my jaw drops At The lack of feeling displayed by the robots ofetn posing question.
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So what questions would you ask?
Or wouldn't you ask any?
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I watched the beginning of the early evening BBC 1 news bulletin at around 5 o'clock today; the lead item was the Olympics, but not Usain's astonishing performance. Instead it was the four golds for British competitors. Although all four were well-deserved, it is a disgrace that Usain's 100m win was not the lead item.
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Why? The BBC is the BRITISH broadcasting corp after all.
Tell you what - go to the US - you'd swear no-one else won any medals!
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Wow... I agree with this article... it is in fact "unbelievable", "implausible", "defies belief", and clearly he did succeeded in his dertermination to "rip up the rule-book"... I don't dare say more.
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Well done Bolt, tremendous performance!
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Simply astonishingly. I was on the way back from the Emirates stadium and heard it on the radio - but then to watch it on TV was somthing quite else. How on earth did he do it? Awesome stuff.
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All the talk at the moment seems to be about how good Bolt's run is for a frugs free 100m - by prving you can be clean and dominate, but actually, couldn't it prompt more drug use? The rest of the sprinters are going to wodner what they need to do it compete - and the fact is that drugs is the only way they could get close to him.
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Hmmm... the biggest shock is the general reaction to this "win"
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/front_page/7095263.stm
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I have to echo the words of the great Michael Johnson "OH MY GOD!!!!".
The fact that Usain was gearing down and had the race won by 8.2 seconds mark, shows that should he stay fit and focused the world record can brought down to 9.5 secs!!! [you heard it hear first].
Roll on the 200m, so that world can see as to how his phenomenal speed can be sustained/ bettered over the extra 100m! If he decides to step up to 400m there'll be plenty of athletes who might just call it a day.
Asafa Powel must keep faith and take a leaf out of the book of his younger countryman, by taking the pressure off his shoulders by enjoying the moments he gets.
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Usain Bolt ran an incredible 85m. Far from missing an opportunity, he did a very smart thing by coasting over the line, and only shaving 0.03 off his own 100m record.
The Russian pole-vaulter, Yelena Isinbayeva, has won a fortune in sponsors' bonuses by repeatedly improving her own world record in tiny increments (on some 23 occasions, in fact!) Bolt is good enough to be in a position to use a similar tactic. I am confident Bolt will break 9.5 at some point, but just like his running style, don't expect to see him hurry.
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The other athletes do not have to use drugs to compete what they do need is a heck of alot of training and to be naturally gifted with a large majority fast twitch muscle fibres.
To grasp an idea of an Olympians training schedule>>>>>>>>>>>
early in John Akii Bua's hurdling career a 400m hurdler,
his training included wearing a vest weighted with 25 pounds in lead as he ran 1,500 meters over five hurdles that were 42 inches high -- the hurdles for his race were 36 inches. He did four sets of those repetitions, twice a day, every day.
and that was 1972 things have go even harder
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thanks for your report
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What is as incredible as Bolt's bolt is - according to some of the posts here - the fact that people in America seem to have been unable to watch it. Even the famously insular Japanese broadcasting networks have repeated his awe inspiring feat again and again for us all to enjoy.
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Considering 200m is supposeted to be his big event, the question is not will he beat Johbsons record but can he break 19secs, if you believe this impossible then so was 9.7 not so long ago.
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If people are struggling for comparisons to describe Bolt's run there are two options. The one that springs to most minds and is already bringing denials is Ben Johnson. The extent of the win and the shockwaves are similar, but if there is doubt because Johnson was a small man, we should be looking at the women's... Florence Griffiths-Joyner. She was a phenomenon, very tall, won by miles, few had suspicions...
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I wonder who rights this guys scripts?born with the perfect sir name for his talent .If i was him i would permanently change my name to lightning bolt.
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It seems to me that the short distance runing is controlled by the black people.But LiuXiang, a chinese athelte, breaks the record and proves that there is no so-called superiority in sports competition.So, all we have to do is to wait for the oncoming miracle!
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I think some people are deliberately being disingenuous about Bolt's feat. He's been clocking fast times since he was 15 and lets take into consideration he is 6ft 5- his stride is gigantic- running the same speed as a smaller athlete and he will of course cover more ground. Plus there was no tail wind and he wasn't nervous. Nothing important you might think but time and time again we've seen nerves kill an athlete in the first 30m- The whole business of him slowing down has been greatly exaggerated at 15m he throws his arms out and looks to his side yet he's still running at considerable speed.
Reading through this blog it seems some people are fault finding even though all the signs are that Bolt is a clean athlete- give the man his dues- every once in a while the genetic pool throws up something great much like Phelps- the oddest shaped body you'll ever see but perfect for swimming, short powerful legs and a torso more akin to someone who is 6ft 8.
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I saw this amazing feat in the flesh last night ... it was amazing!
Did anyone else notice that when they started to run "False Start" flashed up on the scoreboard? Good job no-one stopped running because of it.
And to think that there was talk that Beijing didn't have record-breaking conditions! Ha!
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Ninatapper is so wrong about Bolt coming out of nowhere all of a sudden to be running this fast.
Bolt has run amazing times since he was 15 years old in Jamaica. At our high school champs, he would win the 200m from 140m and start waving to the crowd. He's always been phenomenal.
As a teenager, he set World Youth records and World Junior records - 20.13, 19.93. You name it, he's done it - as a simple manchild from a rural district in Jamaica. In his mid-teens, he also run 45.4 in the 400m, which means if he takes the 400 seriously he'll be able to go sub-44 comfortably.
Usain has been a phenom for years. It's about time for those who haven't followed his international career to sit up and watch the big man finally dominate.
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The fastest man in the world... is Chris Hoy. 9.815 second for TWO HUNDRED metres in sprint qualifying this morning.
Bolt's quite impressive for a jogger, though.
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Bolt made all the others look so ordinary. It must be a terrible thing to train for years, try your very hardest on the worlds biggest stage, and lose to a guy who is so relatively inexperienced and treating the event like a school sports day.
There will be people whispering about drugs, and the way he laid off the gas and started celebrating well before the line had a touch of the Ben Johnson about it, but when he is tested and proved clean will be just as important as the race.
Well done to a fun and modest sporting superstar.
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Watching Usain Bolt was quite phenomenol.The guy is a great athlete but it's a shame all those drug cheats from years past have cast a cloud over his achievements.No matter how clean Bolt is,people will always be suspicious.It's a sad fact of the times we are in.
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I think 9.55 is probably closer to what this guy can run.
He is a phenomenon unseen in the history of the sport.
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Adrian Chiles and Peter Allen of 5 Live apparently have a negative, cynical view of Bolt's run.
I was going to say that this is a typical British reaction, but I actually think that most British people have a positive outlook and think that Bolt was amazing.
Can we get rid of these guys, and get some presenters who are a bit more representative of British people?
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Sorry but what is a 'Thunder Bolt'?!??!
Surely he's a Lightning Bolt!!!!!!
He jogged to a new world record and he will surely break his own record soon... I think he could easily break 9.60seconds.
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I found the commentary on the women's marathon biased, patronising and quite contemptible. Here we have a British athlete amongst the top six not being noticed or really mentioned and other British runners running their guts out, yet hardly mentioned. But Paula who should not even be there became, as usual the main focus of their attention. And Paula's crying afterwards - how pathetic! Why the pathetic crying? is it self-pity, loss of sponsorship, or simply her own self-importance at play? Paula and the two comentators need to put the olympics and what it's about, a country of more that 60,000,000 and a worlds of billions into perspective. And well done to the thousands who did not cry and particularly to the British competitor who finished sixth.
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A good run but if Micheal Johnson done 200m in 19.32 then that = 9.66 100m x2 ...I'm either doing my maths wrong or this is just a good average run
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#84 - been quite a few discussions about this, who is the fastest human ever etc. To paraphrase, you can't compare the two because the 2nd hundred in a 200m is not from a standing start. See the preview blogs for this race for more...
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Bolt's running last night is a step change in the 100m dash for men. From now on, any decent 100m runner will have to be 6ft 5in or more. The difference last night was stride length. I don't think that Bolt had a higher turn over than Michael Frater, for example. How come it has taken so long for to work out that time to finish is function of stride length and turn over? To improve significantly on the turn over frequency that the best 100m runners have looks unlikely. The improvements will have to come from longer stride lengths.
Having said that, Bolt is THE man!
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Does anyone know how far Bolt can long-jump? Seems like he would be ideally suited to this, similar to a Carl Lewis.
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Bolt's stride is massive - not only is he fast and strong - he seems to have to legs of a giant taking giant leaps across the earth - I think he could go as fast as under 9 secs; he just seems to be a wonder of nature - super human and really really laid back and natural. It will take a long time to beat him; I would feel over whelmed by his physical prowess if i was another runner.
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well what a runner,he made it look so easy too,he was not ruffled before the start in fact he looked like he was on a day out ,,, well done ,,,,,,
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I only saw another Ben Johnson (who was Jamaican incidentally) i'm afraid!
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Will the editors please tell Tom Fordyce to include minor information in his story like the Bolt's time? I had to reread his story twice and still couldn't find the time for Bolt's dash. Thank blog commenter #16 for finally mentioning that it was 9.69 seconds. I thought journalists were trained to include such non-trivial facts.
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blogbobster @ 91
Tom Fordyce hasn't written a news article, he's written a blog. All relevent info needed is quite clearly linked from Tom's article here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympics/athletics/7565203.stm
If bloggers were to include 'minor information' like you expect they wouldn't really be blogs anymore would they?
Under the circumstances, I had to laugh at your username ;-)
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Isinbayeva (best female pole vaulter ever) is like Bolt very capable of smashing the world record by some distance - however Isinbayeva is on record as saying that she deliberately only breaks it by small margins as she gets money for each time she sets a new world record. Smashing the world record by some distance (as she regularly does in training) would only make it more difficult to earn money.
One suspects Bolt knows full well his ability to go faster and may be looking for several more pay days.
It will keep it interesting for us though.
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I have to say I feel a little cheated by Bolt. He may look back and rue his celebrations.
With the track being so fast - as he said himself - we may have lost the chance so see anyone go inside 9.6. More to the point he may look back when he's retired saying i could have done 9.59, whilst some as yet unknown athlete does 9.61. I hope he has the drive to go on from this.
He'll cream the 200m of course but will that be enough for him?
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100 metre records are meant to be broken by increments, a few hundredths of a second at a time, not by this much and in such a causal fashion!
For years sprinters were struggling to get below 9.80 secs. It looked like we had reached the wall in terms of how far humans could push themselves in the 100m .. then Bolt comes along and makes it look incredibly easy. This guy is a phenomenon in every sense of the word. I can't wait to see what he's capable of in the next few years; a true legend already and he's only 21!
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Usain is soooo well named, you can't deny he's a THUNDER-BOLT!!!!!!!! Fab to see Jamaica do so incredibly well in the biggest race in athletics, smashing the WR like that?!!! I just thought 'Oh please, HE'S not going to be proved a drugs cheat is he?', that margin was just superhuman - well done!
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Sorry, but I don't think denial over what we've witnessed is going to help the sport of athletics.
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Throw them back in time and Id like to see what Bolt could do in the pool against Phelps!!
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I was at the middlesex 7's in Twickenham and had a generous bunch that turned their TV out to the stadium from their corporate box so we could watch the race. Thank you very much to those guys. Unfortunately the over zealous stewards were their usual surly selves and hopped over the dividing wall and turned the TV round so we couldn't see the replay citing health and safety reasons as we had our back to the rugby. How ridiculous!
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I hope he is subjected to rigorous drug tests....and that he comes clean in every bloody one of them.
That will send a message to aspiring athletes that it is possible to excel without resorting to ........
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for some the Phelps is no.1 for others is Usain Bolt for me it is Bolt and i think that 3 gold medals in swimming is like 1 gold medal in athletics (100m men) but that it is just me.
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Does not always have good concentration, may still need to improve on technique, shuts down in the middle of races, jogs instead of running...and still you could safely park a trailer in the gap between him and the rest.
He needs to be flogged for not going even faster!
At this rate, quite soon, there will have to be two finals:
1) the silver and bronze race for the other 7 runners. It's better to let them depart with some dignity.
2) one for Insane-Bolt alone on the track...with just one massive clock at the other end counting down from 10secs to zero.
Un-bloody-believeable.
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Please let him be clean...I'm sure he is, but we've been burned so many times before.
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The IAAF/IOC has implemented a blood testing regime for this olympics. They are creating a "blood profile" for athletes. Bolt and Powell have both been included in this programme and I know they have both had blood samples taken at least 4 times since they arrived in Beijing. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/olympics/athletics/7556814.stm
I'm sure if something came up we'd have heard it by now.
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tom, can't you get your techie guys to chart Bolt's predicted time as if he had maintained his speed at 80m? Let's find out how fast he really went!
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And can we have gis time for 90m, 80m 70m, 60m and 50m. He may have set six records.
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Sorry, but Bolt's run just stretched logic a little bit too far.
I'm sure the governing bodies are testing athletes a bit more rigorously (and blood testing is long overdue), but there are still loopholes you can drive a train through. Jamaica still has no testing regime whatsoever as in other countries. In competition testing is one thing (and it's all too late then really anyway), but out of competition testing is quite another science altogether. I hope it gets better for the sake of sprinting.
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To put this rumor to rest: the100m was certainly shown on US television, it just wasn't shown live, sothat the network could get higher ratings when they actually did show it, in prime time. Also, there are no less than eight channels of US television showing different Olympic sports almost around the clock, it is not true that only sports where the US wins are shown. Bolt's win is worldwide news and the US is no exception to this, it has been covered heavily.
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Bolt is Amazing I have to doft my hat to him. What a race that was. My only worry is why did he ease of in the 30meters or so? He smashed the world record yes, but could imagine what the record would have been if he followed many coaches advice that the finish line is actullay 10 meters beyond the the real finish line? may be it would have been 9.5 seconds? hahahaha
Awesome though awesome
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The man is amazing. Te look on his face as he strolls to the finish line is priceless. He has a long career ahead for him and I hope he blazes to another easy first in the 200m. I hope the he tones down the showboating, he doesn't need it- he's good, we are all taking note.
I felt so sorry for Asafa Powell though- he looked so dejected.
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After reflecting for 48 hours I have to agree that was the most incredible sporting event I have ever witnessed. I am not a big fan of athletics, I watch the big events, I watch much more football for example, but Bolt's run was phenomenal. If this moment was dropped into a film or sketch show it would be criticised and dismissed for being unrealistic. We are very fortunate to have witnessed this.
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Incredible, amazing performance, Beamonesque.
But you do have to wonder when a country's programme suddenly becomes so good at a sport (qv the clean sweep in the women's 100m). Particularly when that sport has a record of doping that is bettered only by weightlifting and road cycling. And that country has weak doping controls (no testing of juniors for instance, although the IAAF test the elite athletes heavily), lots of connections to the shadier side of sport (where were Ben Johnson, Linford Christie and Dwain Chambers born?) and is in a region with lots of expertise in the manufacture and distribution of illicit drugs. Sprinting is hugely competitive, so small improvements make a massive difference to your outcome, and it's proven that doping "works" - it's hard to see how doping would make such a difference to technical sports like sailing.
I hope I'm wrong. I want to believe.
I sooo want to believe.
But I suspect that we will only really know in 10 years time whether Bolt is for real or not.
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9.55 seconds.
Thats what he would have run if he hadnt slowed before the line.
If he had got a proper start for himself as well. Who knows - 9.50.
This guy is tall, powerful and the most obvious - fast. His stride alone is enough to take out half the opposition when he's not even pushing for speed.
Total respect.
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PS: As for drugs - Jamaica has always been up there with speedy athletes - its partly genetic. In the past years they have started to fund training there properly and they are reaping the rewards.
I have never seen anyone complain that its suspicious when the US get three or more sprinters into the olympic final - its just a fast nation with financial backing and elite sportsmen but suddenly Jamaica has its recognition for years of hard work and its first real funding and everyone cries drugs...
Jamaica was always waiting to do this its just a matter of having the facilities and backing there to make it a reality.
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AlaKurt - I agree with you...( post 111 )
He helped take us from the realms of postulation, hoping and dreaming, into a world of the real, present and now...no need to wonder anymore, other than to think about how fast he can go...
For as long as he is running, and is fit, everyone else is running for silver...he's out on his own...
As to how fast he can go...
Well there's two ways of looking at it...how fast could he have gone in the 100m final he won...
And how fast can he go in the future...
If he had ran to the line, he would have gone to the very low 9.6s...and that would've been with nil following wind...
In the future, if he improves and grows stronger as he should, staying injury and fit along the way, and if he runs to the line, and if wind conditions are favourable...9.50 is possible...may be even lower...
The question is, how much does he care about it? If he does care about it, he will set a time that will last for half a century...
That is what we want to see; to see what is humanly possible...more than any other, he has the potential to give us what we are craving...
You only need to look at Michael Johnson's and Donovan Bailey's interviews on Bolt since that performance to see how some of the greats are already viewing the man...
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as usual there are some miserable people out there who does not take joy and happiness at lightning's deed - put it like this, when was the last time you saw some athlete celebrate his or her win in such a manner like lightning - and has the tools to back up his bravado - can't wait to see what he does on the 200m final.
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To 112, I wouldn't say that Jamaica's programme has suddenly become good. Jamaica's history with athletics has always been with our runners just on the cusp of great achievement. Altho the women have typically done better than the men in the past: Merlene Ottey, Grace Jackson, Deon Hemmings, Juliet Cuthbert, Veronica Campbell, etc.
While we acknowledge that athletes born in Jamaica have been disgraced due to drug use, these athletes did not run for Jamaica, they did not form part of Jamaican teams. They developed early skills and then went to other countries where resources were better, and where they ended up making bad decisions to take drugs for whatever reason.
Lack of resources is why Jamaican athletics have not developed as they should in the past, and also why Jamaica doesn't have its own testing facilities. Jamaica cant finance quality testing with the level of technology and expertise necessary to spot sophisticated drugs. Why not let an unbiased internationally reputable agency do the testing?
If it had a facility perhaps it would be criticised for being of poor quality and for covering up drug use. Let the best facilities test and if the athletes are clean then that is the standard and that is the proof.
Even now stellar Jamaican athletes still train at international facilities but the programme is advancing because more resources are being invested in the early development of athletes and Usain Bolt, as well as the women sprinters are a product of that.
Also, he's a product of fate, the right physique, the right time and the stars aligning for a spectacular BOLT!
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Greetings from USA, where Bolt's mind-boggling performance generated surprisingly (or unspurprisingly) little buzz.
Contrast this lively BBC blog with the soporific New York Times blog:
http://olympics.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/16/what-the-world-is-saying-in-jamaica-waan-big-up-asafa-and-bolt/
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I am so happy Bolt won. This is a good thing for Jamaica and the people of Jamaica. We haven't won a gold in men 100m in years. Myself and alot of other Jamaicans wish Powell had won a medal too. This olympic will help to bring Jamaicans closer together and I hope that the rest of the world will see that if we are given a chance we can excel. As for the girls they make us proud. As our motto say 'Out of many one people'
Go Jamaica!
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According to germn sprinter Tobias Unger , Bolt is cheating. See www.bild.de
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Herr Unger is a tad bit jealous?
?They do whatever they want on their island. Nothing happens to them. I?m the only one here at the Olympics who is registering with the doping controllers.?
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No. Unger is just shaking his head, as all the other athletes were after that 200 metres. We all know why they were shaking their heads, but they won't say anything outright.
You've got a guy who walks in and doesn't even warm up for his races and runs world record, and near world record, times? There's a rabbit away there, but unless something happens I think it will take a few years to actually come out. With regard to the doping comments, I think Unger is referring to out-of-competition controls.
Say what you like, but for a 6' 5" sprinter to be able to run that fast and maintain that long stride he needs to have significantly more strength and power than other athletes. Logically, he needs to be getting that from somewhere.
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Congrats to the Lightning Bolt.
Those that cast aspersions: "dem just jealous and gravalicious!!!"
The sus-sus will continue because it's Jamaica doing well.
Don't hear that when the bulky americans are on top...
And we don't have athletes missing their tests.
If WADA wanna setup a thing for themselves in JA so be it.
If as a 15 y o he was the youngest gold medallist in the history of the World Junior Championships and the first junior sprinter to run the 200 metres in under 20 seconds.
did you expect him to stay at 20 seconds till now?
Lotsa ppl have long stride patterns - Ed Moses, Herb McKinley, Arthur Wint...so?
If a 17 yo (Yohan Blake) is doing 10.11 for the 100m, in 4 years time in London do you not expect him to improve?
How do you explain all the young kids doing good times (who're wising up that they can get the training at home and not be fodder in the NCAA system)?
Anyway, what's new? The last World Athletics Championships showed that there was lotta goodness coming outta Jamdown!
Some of the times coming out of a nation of 50+ million with oodles o Lottery monies, and they so happy to finish 6th with a PB, or the weather was too hot...the UK Athletics could look at the way their cyclists/swimmers do things!
As they say "we run things, things nuh run we!"
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080819.OLYJAMAICA19//TPStory/Sports
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/aug/17/olympics2008.olympicsathletics1
http://www.gcfostercollege.edu.jm/
http://www.utech.edu.jm/
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Imagine:-
You doing track and field from you're in primary school.
You go to High School, you do PE and you do sports after school.
In each form/grade you compete against those in another form, e.g., there's competition from 1st Form all the way to 6th Form.
Also, in your form, you're put in Houses (Houses called Athens, Try, Rome, Sparta, Corinth at one school I remember), you have inter-House competition...just as you have the Debating Society, Scouts/Cadets, etc.
The coaching is first-rate (people have another avenue than the purely scholastic to make a way out - a track scholarship is one way or train locally)...ex-Olympians go back into coaching...
High School Champs each year - the National Stadium is packed.
Scouts come from the US.
Athletes compete at the Penn Relays...
Wonder that we're not producing more stars!
Look at the rural background of many of the stars you're now seeing?
Anything similar in UK? no?
Is there much in way of school sports? after school training? A hunger for a way out through sports?
Football: what are the brasilians doing that isn't being done here?
This nation likes to watch and criticise but don't see many products of the system. Life is easy, ppl are obese, exercise is walking from the car to the pub, kids are dropped off at school...is there much in way of exercise?
There was a wonderful program about Albert Kahn last night (BBC 4). He tried to have have photographers capture essence of different cultures (some fading) as a way to avoid conflict - conflict born of ignorance.
Rather than the usual stuff about JA, a documentary on the approach to track there would put into relief/contrast the way things are done here.
For a small nation: would that we had the same zeal in other areas as we do in track and we'd be even further ahead!
You ain't seen nothing yet!
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Athens, Troy, Rome, Sparta, Corinth
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The denial over this is a sight to behold from many people.
The US has a culture and a love of baseball in their veins, and they even have the gall to call a purely US competition the World Series, but I don't think anyone can deny that baseball has had players who have been juicing for decades. Why? Because the only variable you really have is how hard and far you can hit the ball, and that means muscles and how hard you can push yourself. So it is with sprinting as well.
To get a sprinter that tall to have the strength and power to maintain that stride pattern, and to accelerate so quickly, you need something...........extra.
It's funny that people are trying to justify these performances, and trying to claim some sort of Jamaican heritage for running fast. I suppose it's all they have. Usain Bolt, like all athletes who compete at the top, was successful as a junior. So was Marion Jones, and her junior 200 metre record still stands. However, to get from there to the top requires something..........extra. Bolt basically stalled at 18 and then came on the scene this year and instantly started running 9.7s for the 100. Shelly-Ann Fraser's best last year was 11.31 and she's now doing 10.7s and has possibly raised even more of a red flag than bolt. You work that out.
When you see someone burst on to the scene like that, it is mighty suspicious. Pushing yourself over the barrier to new and faster times takes as much time as it took for Michael Johnson to break the 200 and 400 records. You need inventive training programmes to get through that over a period of several years of blood, sweat and tears. It's so sad that people just assume drugs are necessary, detracting from the people who have put in the work.
I've seen all sorts of ridiculous and very funny explanations for what has gone on at these games from the Jamaican food, Jamaican culture of running to the Jamaican culture of supposedly not tolerating drugs and 'killing' you if you do. Unfortunately, no one wants to go for the obvious elephant in the room - the sprint team is juiced up more than Jamaican rum punch.
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For you above
"I suppose it's all they have"
...
Don't live in ignorance
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"Don't live in ignorance"
That's sound advice for people who do seem to be living in ignorance.
You've got an athlete who is taller than everyone else, has a longer stride pattern than everyone else and displays some very odd behaviour. He doesn't warm up for many of his races, runs sub ten second times with ease, keeps on running after he's finished his race and displays no real signs of physical exertion at all.
It's time people woke up, because if the inevitable does come out in a few years everyone will say "Oh, it was so obvious".
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Uh, cilurnum, you're an idiot. Displays odd behaviour? Well then all of us from the Caribbean are doping because we are all expressive, exciting people. Have you never seen us on TV when we celebrate during cricket or other sports? You'd call alot of our antics odd! Have you ever heard us tell a story or an account of something that's happened. No, because you're head's up your ass.
Are you also saying that you need gene enhancement to be be tall? A tall guy with a naturally long stride pattern can't decide he wants to be a runner, train and win a race?
Hate to say so but you sound like a hater American. Usain has been running consistently along with the latest crop of Caribbean athletes as a youth man fuh years. But you're too busy watching America's next Top model to notice. Get lost!
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I am not convinced. he must be on something. wasn't his best time 10.03 a year ago how can you justify such an improvement in a year he could have finished at 9.60 that is a huge increase. that sort of time is unheard of. I cannot possibly conceive that he can naturally run that fast. I have no proof
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U ppl really are a bunch of jealous set, would u be saying the samething if it was an american or some european? We are now shining because they are now cracking down on the drug users in ur countries. Jamaica is full of talented ppl and we are the best in everything that we do even though we are such a small nation.
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Look at Colin Powell in america, where do u think he is from JAMAICA. Look at the previous games where Merlene Ottey was cheatd out of her rightful medals because of the US and other countries using drugs, there were no reservations about them, u ppl idolised them. They ahve been testing him so im sure if there is any such thing it will be revealed
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"They have been testing him so I'm sure if there is any such thing it will be revealed"?
What, you mean like the 80+ clean samples given by Marion Jones?
You have to test for the right substances, and at the right time. There's no way you'll catch 100% of the cheats, but you can improve your chances. And one of the most important things to do is to test people heavily and unexpectedly in October-January. Google 'Conte Chambers' to find the BALCO guy's explanation of why it's so important to test then. The winter before an Olympics is going to be the time of maximum temptation, so that's when you should test the most. Instead the Jamaicans were not tested at all at that time, and the US reduced their testing compared to previous years. You can't prove a "what if", but...that doesn't fill me with confidence that either team is clean.
You can also look at history. What sports are suited to doping, and in which sports has doping been proven to work? While all sports have some physical element, one might guess that there are fewer benefits to doping in "skill" sports like sailing and table tennis than there are in "muscle" sports like weightlifting and sprinting. And looking at history, the three sports with most proven doping are weightlifting, sprinting and road cycling. So if you are looking around the Olympics for possible doping cheats, those would be the sports to look at.
What else does history teach us? Successful doping needs organisation, so it tends to happen among a group of athletes big enough to support the necessary infrastructure of doctors and so on. But not too big a group, otherwise word tends to get out, and it helps if they are "shut off" from the wider world of athletics. Sudden improvements after a new coach is brought in are always suspicious, particularly if that coach has been associated with doping in the past - it suggests an answer to "how did they get the drugs?". Training with other athletes that are doping encourages clean athletes to think "If you can't beat them - join them", it answers the question of motivation.
So, which teams might you suspect of doping. Which appear to have made sudden improvements in the traditional "doping" sports? The obvious answers are the Jamaican sprint team and the British cycling team. And yes, as a Brit, I am saying that there's got to be some doubt about the British cycling team. On the other hand, one could argue that a)track cycling doesn't have much history of doping, it's a very different sport to road cycling - hmmm b) the British team haven't 'suddenly' improved, it's been getting better for a few years now - OK, there's a little truth there and c) we only started looking for cyclists about 10 years ago. That's ones critical. Britain is very similar genetically and economically to the countries that have traditionally done well at cycling, the real wonder is why we were so _bad_ at cycling in the past. The answer of course has something to do with the fact that we never really looked for young cyclists and in any case we didn't have any facilities to bring them on. Both of those things demonstrably changed about 10 years ago. Jamaica doesn't have that excuse, as we have been repeatedly told they've been scouting for sprint talent for 70 years, so they can't explain their sudden recent success by improvements in how they exploit their native talent.
As for the coaching and the company they keep - Glen Mills, head of the Jamaican coaching staff has trained Kim Collins, Dwain Chambers and Raymond Stewart. The last two have been linked to BALCO, Collins had a successful appeal against doping - both he and Chambers trained under Mills with Bolt in 2005. Again, nothing conclusive, but it's something else that raises suspicions.
Now obviously Bolt has some special attributes - you can't deny his height and stride length make him "different", and his lack of history in the 100m makes it hard to compare his performances through time. So the question should really be asking is "Is there doping among the Jamaican team as a whole?" In fact it's not a thing against Jamaica, so the question should be "Are athletes under Glen Mills doping?"
And the women would be the first place I'd look. Fraser has already been mentioned - Kerron Stewart was 7th in Osaka with 11.12 (compared to 10.80 this year); Sherone Simpson made her big improvement in 2006, but had gone rather quiet these last two years before taking the silver in Beijing. Anyone care to dig out the stats for Marvin Anderson and Nesta Carter?
But I know what my suspicions are when it comes to Mills and some of the less good sprinters under him. And inevitably that has to affect your view of Bolt.
I'll repeat this is nothing to with an anti-Jamaica thing - it's more about Mills, and as I've said there are some reasons to be dubious about the British cyclists and (more so) the US sprinters. I also have some suspicions about some of the Africans that have been "reflagged" by countries that are rich enough to afford good doctors.... I'll say it again, that I really hope that the Games are clean, it's just that sadly you have to accept that in this day and age, people do cheat. Michael Johnson wrote a great article a few weeks ago about Antonio Pettigrew, who was in his 4x400 team in Sydney. If the cheats can fool even their own teammates, how can us spectators ever be sure that our heroes are clean?
Anyway, I suspect that our Jamaican friends have other things to worry about at the moment - may you and your families all be safe from the hurricane. I hope that God doesn't feel he should be punishing certain Jamaicans....
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