The Bolt Supremacy
The
comfort with which he finished his qualifying heats was absolutely remarkable
and was something never witnessed before. Watching Olympic qualifiers getting
manhandled by a towering Jamaican on the 100 metres
track was quiet stunning
By Nabeel Naqvi
If there was anything big enough to overshadow
Michael Phelps's extraordinary achievement at the Beijing Olympics, it had to
be the men's 100 metres race. The blue riband event of the Olympics, featuring some of the finest
athletes on the planet, the 100 metres final at the
Bird's Nest proved to be the highlight of the Games.
Organisers and media promoted it as the greatest race in
history. With America's Tyson Gay expected to give his Jamaican rivals, the
former world record holder Asafa Powell and the messiah
of speed Usain Bolt, a run for their money.
Standing 6'5" Usain
Bolt arrived in
Asafa Powell was also cruising along, facing no
difficulties whatsoever in his qualifying rounds. However, world champion Tyson
Gay looked to be struggling and was facing difficulties even in the earlier
rounds. Gay, who had pulled his hamstring in the American athletics trials,
never looked like half the athlete he was three months ago. Eventually he was
knocked out in the semifinals, the race that saw Powell claim the top spot.
Bolt on the other hand was untouchable, the tall
Jamaican won his semifinal in 9.85 seconds just one hundredth of a second shy
of Donovan Bailey's Olympic record of 9.84 seconds which the Canadian set at
the 1996 Atalanta Olympics.
Bolt literally jogged the last 20 metres, with one
website claiming he could moonwalk to the finish line and still come first, such was the level of confidence and fitness evident
from his sprints.
The pressure was building as the final approached,
and it was visible on the faces of all the sprinters on the track but for one.
Even Asafa Powell looked nervous at the start of what
was to be a memorable night for his countrymen, one in particular. Powell has a
reputation of starting the races well, unlike Usain
Bolt who is usually slow out of the blocks.
Bolt is technically very sound, almost perfect. For
an athlete as tall as him it is not normal to maintain such balance, the centre
of gravity is farther from the ground when you are that tall. Therefore it is
very difficult to balance your body, especially, running at such an impeccable
pace.
The race started with two of the three fastest men
on earth lining up to put their name on top of the Olympic folklore. The
massive crowd inside the Bird's Nest held its breath in anticipation and with
millions watching across the globe, the stage was set. But, Bolt looked
relaxed, almost jovial.
It was a smooth start as Powell looked to be the
race leading the for the first 15 metres or so, but,
that was when Bolt started changing gears like a modern-day Ferrari and was
soon flying, with a quarter of the race left he was out of sight. Carefree of
his competitors, this guy was on a different level, with an extreme burst of pace, he left the rest of the field to fight for silver and
bronze.
As if the world-record was meaningless, Bolt
started the celebrations way before the finish-line patting his heart as he
finished the race, still, three hundredth of a second inside his previous world
record mark, catapulting himself into global stardom.
Sending the crowd into extreme ecstasy, Usain Bolt became the first man ever to break the 9.7
seconds barrier (legally). He remained so calm even during the race of such
high magnitude, and he did the unthinkable.
Richard Thompson of
The pressure had seemingly tied Powell's legs as he
finished a disappointing fifth with 9.95 seconds.
And if that was not enough Bolt surprised all in
the 200m final. American sprint legend Michael Johnson who probably knows more
about athletics than me also believed Bolt's 100m sprint was the best he had
ever seen. But, that was before Bolt cruised past Johnson's mark of 19.32 for
200 metres!
Breaking Michael Johnson's record seemed impossible
before the emergence of the lanky Jamaican. Bolt was easing through the 200 metres heats in his usual style but even for a sprint
machine like Bolt the 200m world-record looked steeper than the 100s. But, he
just smashed the record as if it were a thin sheet of glass.
Usain Bolt did put in more effort in the 200 metre final than he did in the 100m and was able to beat
Johnson's mark by two hundredths of a second, finishing at 19.30!
The Beijing Olympics will always be remembered for
Michael Phelps's eight golds that took him past Mark
Spitz but Usain Bolt matched Phelps's prowess and
carved his name in the record books as arguably the best sprinter of all times.
Bolt never showed any sign of nervousness
throughout the Games, but then again, perhaps you get such confidence when you
know that even on your worst day there's no one on the planet who can catch
you, let alone match you.
Courtesy: The News