usain bolt biography video

Jamaica's Usain Bolt is an Olympic legend who has been called "the fastest man alive" for smashing world records and winning multiple gold medals at the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Summer Games.

1986–present

Quick Facts

Childhood and early successes, professional track and field, olympic career, records and awards, 'triple-triple' and loss of gold medal, other races, injury and retirement, soccer career, personal life and daughter, quotes from usain bolt, who is usain bolt.

Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt was dubbed "the fastest man alive" after winning three gold medals at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, and becoming the first man in Olympic history to win both the 100- and 200-meter races in record times. Bolt also won three Olympic gold medals at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London, along the way notching an Olympic-record time of 9.63 seconds in the 100 meters, making him the first man in history to set three world records in Olympic competition. He made history again at the 2016 Summer Games in Rio with gold medals in the 100- and 200-meter races and 4x100-meter relay; the wins gave him a "triple-triple" — three golds over three consecutive Olympics — though he later was stripped of one of the relay golds because of a teammate's doping violation.

FULL NAME: Usain Bolt BORN: August 21, 1986 BIRTHPLACE: Trelawny, Jamaica CHILDREN: Daughter ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Leo

Bolt was born on August 21, 1986, in Jamaica. Both a standout cricket player and a sprinter early on, Bolt's natural speed was noticed by coaches at school, and he began to focus solely on sprinting under the tutelage of Pablo McNeil, a former Olympic sprint athlete. (Glen Mills would later serve as Bolt's coach and mentor.) As early as age 14, Bolt was wowing fans with his lightning speed, and he won his first high school championship medal in 2001, taking the silver in the 200-meter race.

At the age of 15, Bolt took his first shot at success on the world stage at the 2002 World Junior Championships in Kingston, Jamaica, where he won the 200-meter dash, making him the youngest world-junior gold medalist ever. Bolt's feats impressed the sports world, and he received the International Association of Athletics Foundation’s Rising Star Award that year, boosting the recognition of a young man soon to be known as "Lightning Bolt."

At the Berlin 2009 World Championships, Bolt set a world record time of 9.58 seconds for the 100m race, notching a top speed of 27.8 miles per hour (44.72 kilometers per hour) between meters 60 and 80, with an average speed of 23.5 mph.

Despite a nagging hamstring injury, Bolt was chosen for the Jamaican Olympic squad for the 2004 Athens Olympics. He was eliminated in the first round of the 200 meters, though, again hampered by injury.

Bolt reached the world Top 5 rankings in 2005 and 2006. Unfortunately, injuries continued to plague the 6'5" sprinter, preventing him from completing a full professional season.

In 2007, Bolt broke the national 200-meter record held for over 30 years by Donald Quarrie, and earned two silver medals at the World Championships in Osaka, Japan. These medals boosted Bolt's desire to run, and he took a more serious stance toward his career.

At the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, Bolt ran the 100-meter and 200-meter events. In the 100-meter final leading up to the Games, he broke the world record, winning in 9.69 seconds. Not only was the record set without a favorable wind, but he also visibly slowed down to celebrate before he finished (and his shoelace was untied), an act that aroused much controversy later on. He went on to win three gold medals and break three world records in Beijing.

At the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, held in London, Bolt won his fourth Olympic gold medal in the men's 100-meter race, beating rival Yohan Blake, who won silver in the event. Bolt ran the race in 9.63 seconds, a new Olympic record. The win marked Bolt's second consecutive gold medal in the 100. He went on to compete in the men's 200, claiming his second consecutive gold medal in that race as well. He became the first man to win both the 100 and 200 in consecutive Olympic Games, as well as the first man to ever win back-to-back gold medals in double sprints. Bolt's accomplishments made him the first man in history to set three world records in a single Olympic Games competition.

Bolt returned to Olympic glory at the 2016 Summer Olympic Games when he won gold in the 100-meter race, making him the the first athlete to win three successive titles in the event. He finished the race in 9.81 seconds with American runner and rival Justin Gatlin, who took silver, 0.08 seconds behind him.

“This is why I came here, to the Olympics, to prove to the world that I’m the best — again,” he told reporters at a news conference. “It always feels good to go out on top, you know what I mean?”

He continued his Olympic winning streak, taking gold in the 200 meters in 19.78 seconds. "What else can I do to prove I am the greatest?" Bolt said in an interview with BBC Sport . ”I'm trying to be one of the greatest, to be among [Muhammad] Ali and Pelé . I have made the sport exciting, I have made people want to see the sport. I have put the sport on a different level."

The "fastest man alive" remained undefeated in what he said would be the last race of his Olympic career, the 4x100-meter relay, which he ran with teammates Blake, Asafa Powell and Nickel Ashmeade. Anchoring the race, Bolt led the Jamaican team to gold, crossing the finish line in 37.27 seconds. It was the third consecutive gold medal win for Bolt in Rio.

In an interview with CBS News , Bolt detailed his pride over his 2012 performance: "It's what I came here to do. I'm now a legend. I'm also the greatest athlete to live. I've got nothing left to prove."

Bolt is an 11-time world champion. He holds the world records in races for 100 meters, at 9.58 seconds, and 200 meters, at 19.19 seconds, both of which he set at the 2009 Berlin World Athletics Championships. Over the course of his career, Bolt has received numerous awards, including the IAAF World Athlete of the Year (twice), Track & Field Athlete of the Year and Laureus Sportsman of the Year.

Participating in the 2008, 2012 and 2016 summer Olympic Games, Bolt completed a "triple-triple," with a total of nine gold medals earned in the 100-meter, 200-meter and 4x100-meter relay races. In doing so, Bolt joined just two other triple-triple runners: Paavo Nurmi of Finland (in 1920, 1924 and 1928) and Carl Lewis of the United States (in 1984, 1988, 1992 and 1996). However in January 2017, the International Olympic Committee stripped Bolt of one of these medals, for the 2008 4x100-meter relay, because his teammate Nesta Carter was found guilty of a doping violation.

Bolt took back the 100-meter world title on August 11, 2013, after having lost the title in 2011. Although Bolt didn't strike his signature "lightning bolt" pose after the race, his winning image still caused a stir, with lightning striking just as he crossed the finish line.

In 2015, Bolt faced some challenges: He came in second at the Nassau IAAF World Relays in May, but secured an individual win in the 200-meter event at the Ostrava Golden Spike event that same month. He also dominated the 200-meter race at the New York Addias Grand Prix that June. Trouble with his pelvic muscles forced him to withdraw from two races, though Bolt made a comeback that July with a 100-meter win at London's Anniversary Games.

In 2017, Bolt faced challenges on the track at the World Athletics Championships. He finished third in the men's 100 meters, taking home the bronze medal behind Christian Coleman, who won silver, and Gatlin, who took home the gold. It was the first time that Bolt had been beaten at the World Athletics Championships since 2007. His struggles didn't end there: In the 4x100-meter relay, which many believed would be Bolt's final race, he collapsed from a hamstring injury and had to cross the finish line with the help of his teammates.

In August 2017, following the World Athletics Championships, Bolt announced his retirement from track and field. “For me I don’t think one championship is going to change what I’ve done,” he said at a press conference. “I personally won’t be one of those persons to come back.”

Bolt had long talked about eventually making a career in soccer. In August 2017, following his retirement from track and field, he planned to join Manchester United for a charity game against Barcelona, but he had to miss the match due to his hamstring injury. In September, Bolt said he was already in talks with several pro soccer teams, including Manchester United. “We have a lot of offers from different teams, but I have to get over my injury first and then take it from there,” he told reporters.

In October, Bolt reaffirmed his commitment to playing soccer. "For me it's a personal goal. I don't care what people really think about it. I'm not going to lie to myself. I'm not going to be stupid," he told reporters at the U.S. Formula One Grand Prix. "If I go out there and feel I can do this then I will give it a try. It's a dream and another chapter of my life. If you have a dream that you always wanted to do, why not try and see where it will go."

Bolt began training with the Central Coast Mariners of the Australian A-League in summer 2018 and scored two goals in a preseason match in October, but left shortly afterward when he was unable to agree to contract terms with the club.

The sprinter published the memoir My Story: 9:58: The World’s Fastest Man in 2010, which was reissued two years later as The Fastest Man Alive: The True Story of Usain Bolt . He followed in 2013 with Faster Than Lightning: My Autobiography .

In August 2016, People magazine confirmed that Usain Bolt was dating Jamaican model Kasi Bennett. Bolt has been private about their relationship, but he told a journalist in January 2017 that they had been dating for almost three years. In May 2020, it was revealed that Bennett had given birth to a daughter.

• “It's what I came here to do. I'm now a legend. I'm also the greatest athlete to live. I've got nothing left to prove.”
• “When I was young, I didn't really think about anything other than sports.”
• “I was slightly worried about my start. I didn't want to false start again. So I think I sat in the blocks a little bit. It wasn't the best reaction in the world, but I executed and that was the key.”
• “In training, [Yohan Blake] always works hard and pushes me.”
• “The trials woke me up ... Yohan [Blake] gave me a wake-up call. He knocked on my door and said, 'Usain, this is the Olympic year, wake up.' After that, I refocused and got my head together.”
• “My coach said, 'Stop worrying about your start, the best of your race is at the end, that's where you rule.' So I stopped worrying about my start and I executed, so it worked.”
• “Some of you guys doubted me. I just had to show you I was the greatest.”
• “I just wanted to make Jamaica proud. I hope they were all standing up singing the national anthem.”
• “For everybody who was in the race tonight, the four other fastest guys in the world, it was a real honor for me.”
• “I was happy. When I went out in the first run, I felt, 'I can do this.'”
• “I'm a living legend.”
• “I'm just going out there all the time to do my thing and show the world I'm probably the best.”

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Usain Bolt Biography

Usain was born on 21 August 1986 in Sherwood Content, a small town in Trelawny, Jamaica. As a youngster he was mostly interested in sports, spending time playing football, cricket and basketball. At one time he considered a career as a cricketer but, his natural talent for sprinting shone through, and so he was encouraged to take sprinting more seriously. At 15 years old, Usain already towered over his fellow competitors. Growing to a height of 6 foot 5 inches, Bolt showed a sprinter need not be short and powerful like previous sprinting greats. bo In 2002, he won Gold at the World Junior Championships in the 200 metres. At this stage in his career, Usain appeared to give the impression of being quite laid back. He didn’t lead an austere disciplined life but enjoyed dancing and the night-life of Kingston, Jamaica. However, he was still training hard and won Gold at the World Youth Championship in the next year at 2003.

In 2004, Bolt turned professional, under the guidance of new coach Fitz Coleman. He began his career with the CARIFTA Games in Bermuda. He became the first junior sprinter to break 20 seconds for the 200 metres. By 2005, Usain had a new coach Glen Mills who encouraged Usain to take a more professional approach and not just rely on his natural talent. Over the next few years, injury setbacks curtailed his career, but, he was still able to climb the rankings.

His big breakthrough came in the 2007 World Championships where he gained silver in the 200m and 4*100 metre relay. Bolt established a new 100m world record on 31 May 2008. Pushed on by a tailwind of 1.7 m/s, Bolt ran 9.72 s at the Reebok Grand Prix held at the Icahn Stadium in New York City, breaking Powell’s record.

2008 Olympics

2012 Olympics

Bolt won three gold medals, despite being beaten by his training partner, Yohan Blake during pre-Olympic events at the Jamaican national championships. Bolt won the 100m and 200m and was part of the team that set a new world record in the men’s 100m relay.

2013 World Championships

At the 2013 World Championships, Bolt again won a unique triple of gold at 100m, 200m and 100m relay.

Usain Bolt in 2014

Bolt’s 2014 season was marred by injury which reduced his racing programme. Bolt has stated that his body has become more prone to injury as his athletic career progresses. In the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, Bolt chose not to run in the individual 100m, but he did compete in the 100m relay. Bolt anchored the team to a gold medal and proved to be the star attraction of the games.

2016 Olympics

Bolt’s run up to the 2016 Olympics was not ideal with frequent injury problems curtailing his racing and training. However, he was determined to finish with a flurry and announced he would retire shortly after the 2016 Games.

Bolt was the undoubted superstar of the Games, and despite poor attendances in Rio, Bolt always managed to attract a full crowd. Bolt again managed to win gold in all three events – the 100m, 200m and 100m relay. It was a perfect bag of nine Olympic golds – a feat never before achieved.

Bolt has announced that he will retire from athletics after the 2016 Olympics.

Usain Bolt and drugs

Usain Bolt has shown tremendous talent ever since he first started running. His timings are consistent with an athlete of tremendous talent. As Bolt himself says:

“I was the youngest person to win the world juniors at 15. I ran the world junior [200] record 19.93 at [17] … I have broken every record there is to break, in every event I have ever done. “For me, I have proven myself since I was 15. … I have shown everything throughout the years since I was always going to be great.”

Usain Bolt is regularly tested by the IAAF international testing pool and has never tested positive. However, inevitably given the history of the sport, questions have been raised about the issue of drug use. The biggest cause for concern has been from the perceived inadequacies of the Jamaican Athletic Federation. In 2013, it emerged that they had failed to undertake proper out of competition testing in the run-up to the 2012 London Olympics. This failure to implement proper drug testing was compounded by six Jamaican athletes – including the former world 100m record holder Asafa Powell and Veronica Campbell-Brown, testing positive for banned substances. WADA announced an extraordinary audit of the Jamaican testing programme, and have even threatened to ban Jamaican athletes from international competition. ( link ) Bolt has frequently stated that he is clean

“I was made to inspire people and to run, and I was given the gift and that’s what I do,” the six-time Olympic champion said. “I am confident in myself and my team, the people I work with. And I know I am clean. “So I’m just going to continue running, using my talent and just trying to improve the sport.”

In Jan 2017, it was announced that Bolt’s teammate,  Nesta Carter, from the 2008 Beijing Olympics had retroactively tested positive for a stimulant methylhexaneamine , and therefore the whole team were stripped of their gold medal.

Bolt retired after the 2017 World Championships in London. In his last major 100m final, Bolt finished in 3rd place – slightly off his usual blistering pace, after an injury-hit year. In his last ever race, he was anchor leg in the 4x100m final. After receiving the baton he pulled up with an apparent hamstring injury and hobbled over the line.

Since retirement, he has been involved in setting up Jamaican food outlets in the UK. So far, he has insisted he has no plans to return to the track.

Citation: Pettinger, Tejvan . “ Biography of Usain Bolt ”, Oxford, UK – www.biographyonline.net . Last updated 20th January 2018.

Usain Bolt World Record Video

Personal Bests

• 100m:  9.58 s (WR, Berlin 2009)
• 150m: 14.35 s (WB, Manchester 2009)
• 200m: 19.19 s (WR, Berlin 2009)
• 400m: 45.28 s (Kingston 2007)

Olympic Results

2008 Beijing

• Gold – 100 m
• Gold – 200 m
• Gold – 4×100 m relay

2012 London

World Championships

• 2017 Bronze – 100m
• 2015 Gold – 100m
• 2015 Gold – 200m
• 2015 Gold – 4x100m relay
• 2013 Gold – 100 m
• 2013 Gold – 200 m
• 2011 Gold – Daegu 4×100 m relay
• 2011 Gold – Daegu 200 m
• 2009 Gold – Berlin 100 m
• 2009 Gold – Berlin 200 m
• 2009 Gold – Berlin 4×100 m relay
• 2007 Silver – Osaka 200 m
• 2007 Silver – Osaka 4×100 m relay

Faster than Lightning: Usain Bolt

Faster than Lightning: Usain Bolt at Amazon

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I am Bolt! The world's fastest man gets the best sports documentary ever made

From his insomnia to his hatred of training, this is a riveting, revelatory look at Usain Bolt as he heads to the blocks for the last time

S ports stars always want to be remembered as the greatest in their game. This week, though, Usain Bolt prepares not just to run for gold in the final race of his career : he also stars in what might just be the greatest sporting documentary of all time.

As soon as it leaves the blocks, I Am Bolt, made by British filmmakers Benjamin and Gabe Turner, looks to have it locked down. Until now, it’s been a toss up between Asif Kapadia’s Senna (2010), a recreation of the weekend Ayrton Senna was killed in the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, and When We Were Kings (1996) by Leon Gast, an account of Muhammad Ali’s Rumble in the Jungle fight with George Foreman in 1974.

But where Kapadia and Gast were working retrospectively, the Turner brothers are right in the moment. They filmed Bolt for the two years before the 2016 Rio Olympics, supplementing this with footage of key moments from the athlete’s life, including the gangly 15-year-old effortlessly winning an under-20s race in Jamaica.

Top athletes tend to give only contractually obliged interviews nowadays, while ensuring cameras catch the logos of the gear they endorse. But this film offers a constant and exhilarating sense of privileged access. We see Bolt in training, sprinting with a heavy weight tied round his waist; grimacingly lowering himself into post-race ice-baths in the hotel, and mucking around with team mates in Olympic Village bedrooms. We follow him on a secret visit to Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt, a Frankfurt orthopedic expert, when an ankle injury threatens his ability to race in Rio.

Most tellingly, we watch the athlete alone on the bus on the way to the Olympic stadium, silent and composed, the world blocked off by earphones. Though Bolt is unusual in interacting with fans and grandstanding on the track even before the biggest events, a coach describes the “quiet quality” that descends on the extrovert before he goes out.

These moments are interspersed with a vlog recorded by Bolt. Bored and unable to sleep in his hotel room the night before a race, he reflects on the isolation of a runner’s life while circling the room on a Swegway with flashing lights, singing R Kelly’s Bump n’ Grind, his showman’s instincts intact even amid insomnia.

The film’s biggest issue is that, as Bolt is celebrated for his extraordinary win ratio, most viewers will know or guess the outcome of the races, however fresh they are made to look. But the makers inject tension through a sub-plot involving a serious psychological crisis in Bolt’s preparations for Rio.

“It’s hard to be as hungry as someone who has never won a championship,” admits Bolt, who often appears tired and ready to retire. Then he sees a TV clip of American rival (and former drug cheat) Justin Gatlin boasting of his plans to take Bolt down in Brazil, and although admitting to “not having got back all” of his motivation, he has found enough to go for another gold. In the film’s most revealing remark, Bolt says: “I’m too competitive – I take it personally if I lose to someone.”

Apart from its title star, the stand-out figure in I Am Bolt is his jocular coach Glen Mills, who recognises the need to tailor training to the runner’s personality: knowing that Bolt hates training, Mills intersperses drills with prankish downtime. Tellingly, in his pre-Rio crisis, the runner confides to his vlog that “it’s not fun any more.”

The prurient may argue that Bolt’s private life is almost ignored, except for a jolly chat with his mum and dad. And the dark-cloud subject of drug use in athletics is addressed only through side-swipes at Gatlin. Another regrettable absence is any exploration of the faith that leads Bolt to make a sign of the cross and point heavenwards on the starting line. Overall, though, this is a riveting and revelatory film that will explain to future generations the greatness of Usain Bolt in the way that Senna and When We Were Kings also do. A fittingly stellar film for the fastest man the world has ever known.

I Am Bolt airs tonight on BBC1 at 8.30pm.

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Biographical information

Usain Bolt first came to international attention when he won the 200 metres at the 2002 World Junior Championships, adding the World Youth title at 200 metres in 2003. He competed at the 2004 Olympics in that event but failed to get out of the early rounds. In 2007 Bolt won a silver medal in the 200 at the World Championships, presaging his 2008 breakout year. On 31 May 2008 at the Reebok Grand Prix in New York, Bolt broke the 100 metre world record by recording 9.72, setting him up as a favorite for the sprint event at the 2008 Olympics.

Together with Michael Phelps , Usain Bolt was the star of the Beijing Games, in which he won three gold medals. His first victory came in the 100 metres, winning with ease in a world record time of 9.69, despite easing down in the final metres to celebrate. He added golds in the 200 metres, breaking Michael Johnson’s 1996 world record in the process, and the 4×100 metres relay, breaking another world record with his teammates.

Bolt, having become the icon of track & field athletics, repeated this performance at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, winning the same three events and recording world records in the 100 (9.58) and 200 metres (19.19). At the 2011 Worlds, he stumbled slightly when he false started in the 100 and was disqualified but he repeated as gold medalist in the 200 and the 4x100 relay. This led to his 2012 year, when Bolt became the first track athlete to win 3 Olympic gold medals at two consecutive Olympics, again winning both sprints and the sprint relay with the Jamaican team. Bolt then repeated this feat at the 2013 and 2015 World Championships, giving him five major international championships (2 Olympics, 3 Worlds) at which he won the sprint treble, and established himself without peer and as the greatest sprinter of all-time.

Bolt continued to run and competed at the 2016 Rio Olympics. He again won the sprint triple, winning the 100 and 200, and anchoring Jamaica to sprint relay gold. This seemed to give him nine gold medals, equalling the marks of the redoubtable Finnish distance runner Paavo Nurmi and legendary Carl Lewis . However, shortly before Rio, Bolt’s teammate on the 2008 relay, Nesta Carter , was revealed to have a positive doping test at Beijing. In January 2017, Carter was sanctioned and disqualified, which also led Jamaica to lose that gold medal, bringing Bolt’s total down to eight golds.

Personal Bests: 100 – 9.58 (2009); 200 – 19.19 (2009).

Other participations

Special notes.

• Listed in Current Olympic Record Holders in Athletics (100 m 9.63 (2012), 200 m 19.30 (2008), and 4×100 m relay 36.84 (2012))
• Listed in Current World Record Holders in Athletics (100 m 9.58 (2009), 200 m 19.19 (2009), 4×100 m relay 36.84 (2012 at the Olympics))
• Listed in Olympians Who Set a World Record in Athletics (100 m – 31 May 2008 - present: 9.72 (31 May 2008; New York, New York, USA; Reebok Grand Prix Meet), 9.69 (16 August 2008; Beijing, CHN; Olympic Games; Final.), 9.58 (16 August 2009; Berlin, GER; World Championships; Final.); 200 m – 20 August 2008 - present: 19.30 (20 August 2008; Beijing, CHN; Olympic Games; Final.), 19.19 (20 August 2009; Berlin, GER; World Championships; Final.); 4×100 m relay – 4 September 2011 - present: 37.04 (4 September 2011; Daegu, KOR; World Championships), 36.84 (11 August 2012; London, GBR; Olympic Games))
• Listed in Olympians Who Won a Medal at the World Athletics Championships (11–2–1 2007 Osaka silver: 200 m and 4×100 m relay; 2009 Berlin gold: 100 m, 200 m, and 4×100 m relay; 2011 Daegu gold: 200 m and 4×100 m relay; 2013 Moskva gold: 100 m, 200 m, and 4×100 m relay; 2015 Beijing gold: 100 m, 200 m, and 4×100 m relay; 2017 London bronze: 100 m)
• Listed in Olympians Who Won a Medal at the British Empire/Commonwealth Games (1–0–0 2014 Glasgow ATH gold: 4×100 m relay)
• Listed in Olympians Who Were Named Champion des champions de L'Équipe (2008, 2009, 2012 (men), 2015 (men), 2016 (men))
• Listed in Olympians Who Won a Laureus World Sports Award (Won Sportsman of the Year in 2009, 2010, 2013, 2017)
• Listed in Olympians Who Were Named BBC World Sport Star of the Year (2008, 2009, 2012)

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Usain Bolt’s records: best strikes from the Lightning Bolt

A comprehensive guide to Usain Bolt’s 100m, 200m, 4x100m sprint records, including world records and best performances at the Olympics and World Championships.

In the sprinting world, Usain Bolt was the undisputed dominant force in recent times.

Flip through any record book, be it for world records or best performances at premier athletics meets like the Olympic Games or the World Championships, and you will find the Jamaican sprinter dominating the sprint section singlehandedly.

Looking back, here’s a compilation of Usain Bolt’s record breaking achievements on the world stage.

Usain Bolt’s world records

Usain Bolt currently holds the world records for men’s 100m, 200m sprints and was part of the 4x100m world record-holding Jamaican quartet that included Nesta Carter, Michael Frater and Yohan Blake.

Usain Bolt’s 100m records

Usain Bolt set the current 100m world record at the 2009 IAAF World Championships, clocking an astonishing 9.58 seconds for the feat.

At the record-winning event, Usain Bolt’s average ground speed was 37.58km/h, whilst reaching a top speed of 44.72km/h in the 60-80m stretch – numbers fitting for the world’s fastest man.

Usain Bolt, however, was already in possession of the title and was only bettering his own times.

The Jamaican first held the 100m world record in 2008 at the Reebok Grand Prix in the Icahn Stadium in New York. He clocked 9.72 seconds to beat fellow Jamaican sprinter Asafa Powell’s record of 9.74 seconds set at the IAAF Grand Prix in Rieti, Italy, a year earlier.

In New York, Bolt beat US sprinter Tyson Gay, the then reigning world champion, by over a second to win the gold medal**.**

Just months later in August 2008, Bolt ran a 9.69 seconds at the Beijing Olympics to win gold in the 100m and better his own record. At the 2009 World Championships, Bolt was only putting his own record beyond the competition’s reach.

By the time he retired in 2017, Bolt’s 9.69 seconds at the 2008 Olympics was his third-best time in the 100m.

Though Tyson Gay in 2009 and Yohan Blake in 2012 equalled Bolt’s 9.69 seconds from Beijing, Bolt’s 9.58 seconds at the 2009 World Championships and 9.63 seconds at the London 2012 Olympics - still the Olympics 100m record - remain untouched by any runner in any official competition till date.

Usain Bolt’s 200m records

Though his achievements in the 100m made Bolt a superstar, the Jamaican’s pet event was the 200m. Bolt dominated that as well.

Like in the 100m, Bolt chose the 2009 World Championships in Berlin to set the 200m world record. The Jamaican won gold after clocking 19.19 seconds, bettering his previous record of 19.30 seconds at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Claiming the record for the first time, however, was quite a toil.

Chasing the legendary United States sprinter Michael Johnson’s long-standing record of 19.32 seconds set at the Atlanta 1996 Olympics, Bolt needed to better his previous 200m best of 19.67 seconds by quite a margin to stake claim on the record at Beijing.

The Jamaican, however, did just that, clipping 0.02 seconds off Johnson’s time to win gold and set both the new world and Olympic record in 200m. He beat his own world record at Berlin, but the Olympic record still stands.

In fact, Bolt’s 19.19 seconds and 19.30 seconds both feature in the top three best 200m timings of all time, with only countryman Blake’s 19.26 seconds at the 2011 Diamond League meet in Brussels interrupting a 1-2 finish for Bolt.

Usain Bolt’s 4x100m records

The 4x100m men’s relay has been thoroughly dominated by Jamaican teams over the past two decades and Usain Bolt has featured heavily in their tremendous success.

The current 4x100m record in men’s relay was set at the London 2012 Olympics by the Jamaican team involving Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake, Nesta Carter and Michael Frater. It still stands as both the world and Olympics record.

They clocked 36.84 seconds at the 2012 Olympics final, beating the 37.04 seconds the same team registered at the 2011 World Championships. The two are the top two-timings in the history of 4x100m.

Barring these, Bolt also holds the fastest time recorded in a 150m straight dash, finishing the race in 14.35 seconds at the 2009 BUPA Great City Games in Manchester, England.

Usain Bolt’s record at the Olympics and World Championships

For any track and field star, the Olympics and the World Championships are the holy grails and no one in history has even come close to dominating these events as Bolt has.

Bolt holds the 100m, 200m and 4x100m records in both the Olympics and World Championships. But these feats are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to illustrating the Jamaican sprinter’s sheer domination at these grand events.

Usain Bolt at the Olympics

After a disappointing outing at the Athens 2004 Olympics, Bolt won gold in the 100m and 200m in three consecutive Olympics - Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Rio 2016 - a feat no other sprinter in history has ever achieved.

“You think of the great sprinters of the past who have done things that have never been done before like Jesse Owens, Carl Lewis and myself. But none of us has produced, in my opinion, the consistency and longevity that Bolt has. So to this point, he has to be considered the greatest,” Michael Johnson once said about Bolt.

The closest comparison, perhaps, will be the legendary Carl Lewis, who won back to back 100m golds at the 1984 and 1988 editions, whilst clinching a gold and silver in the 200m events.

By setting the 100m and 200m world records at Beijing 2008, Bolt became the first sprinter since fellow Jamaican Don Quarrie in 1976 to hold both world records simultaneously.

Bolt had also won the 4x100m gold medals in all three editions but was unfortunately stripped off the Beijing medal in 2017 after teammate Nesta Carter failed a drug test.

Usain Bolt at World Championships

From 2009 to 2015, Bolt won every 100m, 200m and 4x100m gold medals on offer at the biennial meet, barring the 100m at the 2011 edition in South Korea, where he was disqualified due to a false start.

With 11 gold medals, Bolt is the most decorated male athlete of all time at the World Championships. Overall, only American female track and field star Allyson Felix has more gold medals in the competition with 13.

The Lighting Bolt may have hung up his sprinting spikes in 2017, but Usain Bolt’s record is set to rule the running tracks around the world for years to come.

Usain Bolt's records

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Biography of Usain Bolt, Mutant

In just two years, he has demolished the 100-meter dash world records with times that are superhuman — literally thirty years ahead of what they historically should be. So what if the greatest athlete alive decided to actually get serious?

The low snap of a single gunshot bursts from eight speakers at once. Each speaker is positioned behind a single man, and each man is positioned more or less identically in a sprinter's crouch: his feet in the starting blocks, his legs slightly bent, his rear end higher than his shoulders, his fingers splayed on but not beyond the white chalk of the starting line. The color schemes of their Lycra uniforms are different — the blue and white of the United States, the red and white of Trinidad and Tobago, the green and yellow of Jamaica — but otherwise, at this moment, their heads down, their faces invisible, their bodies immobile, it is hard to tell the runners apart.

The individuation begins as soon as the sound waves conveying the gunshot traverse the two meters or so between the speakers and the ears of the men. Reaction times differ. The theoretical limit of reaction time in this race, taking into account the time it takes for the sound waves to reach the ears of the sprinters and the time it takes for their brains to process those sound waves and send a signal to their muscles, is 0.1 seconds. The starting blocks each contain Omega-built pressure sensors, and if these sensors detect a push from the foot of any runner beginning less than 0.1 seconds after the gunshot leaves the speaker, that runner is tagged with a false start and the racers must line up and begin again. There is no false start this evening, August 16, 2008, deep in the Bird's Nest stadium in Beijing. It is the 100-meter finals of the XXIX olympiad, and the first man off the blocks, 0.133 seconds after the shot, is Richard Thompson, of Trinidad and Tobago. He is followed less than a thousandth of a second later by Walter Dix, of the United States. In the next three hundredths of a second, four more runners shove off against their pressure sensors. And then, finally, 0.165 seconds after the start of the race, in second to last place, Usain Bolt of Jamaica begins to run.

He's only been racing this distance for about a year, and the importance of a quick start is one of the things he's still getting used to. His specialty throughout his running career has been the 200 meters, and that's a distance for which the start isn't as crucial. Over two hundred meters, you can make up for lost time. That's not the case in the 100. He's had to work to overcome some of his sloppy starting habits. For example, he has a tendency to brush his left toe along the ground during the explosive burst from the blocks, generating counterproductive friction. He's gotten better, and usually manages to avoid doing that now, but he does it today, the front of his left shoe scuffing the track as he whips his leg forward to take his second stride. The shoe also happens to be untied, a sloppy mistake, no excuse.

Within the next few seconds, the so-called drive phase, the heads of the runners begin to come up, and their bodies start to straighten, their spines unfurling as their strides lengthen. Although they are still grouped closely together — were the race to end at the 2.4-second mark, Bolt would come in fourth place, by a hair — another point of differentiation now emerges: Bolt is the biggest man in the pack. He's six feet five inches tall, 210 pounds. That makes him three inches taller and twenty pounds heavier than the second-biggest competitor.

During the drive phase, Bolt and the rest of the runners are all leaning forward at an unsustainable tilt, their torsos out ahead of where their feet impact the ground. They are basically in the act of falling down, face-first, but their legs, racing against gravity, are preventing that from happening, propelling them forward so hard and so fast that their bodies, instead of face-planting, begin to slowly rise up into a full upright position. Sprinters often describe this phase, when everything happens correctly, as being analogous to liftoff in an airplane.

.css-f6drgc:before{margin:-0.99rem auto 0 -1.33rem;left:50%;width:2.1875rem;border:0.3125rem solid #FF3A30;height:2.1875rem;content:'';display:block;position:absolute;border-radius:100%;} .css-1aglugu{font-family:Lausanne,Lausanne-fallback,Lausanne-roboto,Lausanne-local,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:1.625rem;line-height:1.2;margin:0rem;}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-1aglugu{font-size:1.75rem;line-height:1.2;}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-1aglugu{font-size:2.375rem;line-height:1.2;}}.css-1aglugu b,.css-1aglugu strong{font-family:inherit;font-weight:bold;}.css-1aglugu em,.css-1aglugu i{font-style:italic;font-family:inherit;}.css-1aglugu:before{content:'＂';display:block;padding:0.3125rem 0.875rem 0 0;font-size:3.5rem;line-height:0.8;font-style:italic;font-family:Lausanne,Lausanne-fallback,Lausanne-styleitalic-roboto,Lausanne-styleitalic-local,Arial,sans-serif;} Usain Bolt's top speed is simply significantly higher than anyone else's, ever.

By approximately the four-second mark, the drive phase has transitioned into the stage known as "full acceleration." The runners are now truly, in the classic sense, running, knees driving up ahead of their hips while their elbows drive back in the opposite direction, a plumb line between where the balls of their feet impact the ground and their chests cleave the air. And it is at this point that the ultimate difference between Usain Bolt and his competitors reveals itself. It is both a simple difference and one that, when you witness it, is hard to fathom.

When the other men reach their top speed, their limit, Usain Bolt continues to accelerate. By the fifty-meter mark, he has caught up to the leader. By the sixty-meter mark, a noticeable gap has emerged between him and the rest of the pack. By the seventy-meter mark, he is covering more than twelve meters of ground — about forty feet — every second, a pace faster than the speed limit for automobiles in most neighborhoods. Nobody has ever moved this fast before under his own power. Usain Bolt's top speed is simply significantly higher than anyone else's, ever.

His top speed is such a spectacle, so phenomenal, so searing that many who witness this race, who see Bolt cross the line in 9.69 seconds, breaking his own three-month-old world record by three hundredths of a second, don't notice, until they see the replay, what is perhaps the most salient and frightening thing about his performance: Approximately eighty meters into the race, twenty meters from the finish line, Bolt stops trying. It happens right after he throws a quick glance to the right, toward lane seven, the lane of his chief rival, a fellow Jamaican named Asafa Powell who held the world record before Bolt did. Prior to the start of the race, Bolt believed Powell was his only credible threat. Now seeing that Powell is nowhere in sight, that, indeed, no other runner is visible, Bolt lets something like a smile cross his lips. Then his arms stop pumping. He drops them to his sides, pulls his shoulders back, pushes his chest out, splays his fingers. His legs continue to cycle, but he no longer provides them additional impetus. He coasts. Several meters before he crosses the finish line, a full half second before he wins the 100-meter final by one of the widest margins in Olympic history, he brings his right fist up and thumps his chest.

As Bolt bounds toward his family waiting on the sidelines, kicking off his golden, unlaced shoes, beginning to do a Jamaican dance called the Nuh Linga, Ato Boldon, one of the men NBC hired to comment on the race, does his job and tries to put what he has just seen into words.

The frontiers of human performance, he says, sounding somewhat stunned, "have now gone into the realm of video-game times."

The sound of gunfire bursts from two speakers at once, one on either side of the television set. Usain Bolt flinches, flicks his left thumb forward on the nub of his controller.

"Run!" he shouts. "Run!"

Bolt is sitting on the edge of a king-sized mattress in his bedroom, one foot curled under him, the other planted on the floor. He's usually got a warm, open face, with a grin lurking near the surface, but right now his expression is as slack and empty as the wet socks hanging on the clothesline in his backyard. He and his younger brother, Sadiki, are playing a two-player mission in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Sadiki sits on a leather rocker next to the bedroom window, which is cracked open. A warm Jamaican breeze penetrates the room, causing the maroon-and-orange curtains to roil and billow inward, lapping up against Sadiki's cheek, but Sadiki doesn't seem to notice. He, like Bolt, is staring, rapt, at the fifty-inch Sharp HDTV that sits on the glass-topped entertainment console at the end of the bed.

They began playing soon after they woke up, at 10:00 A.M., and by 1:00 P.M., neither has moved, even to go to the bathroom, though Bolt has occasionally shifted his position, loosening his shoulders, stretching his back, switching from playing while sitting up to playing while lying on his stomach or his side. He's got scoliosis, a congenitally warped spine, and a significant portion of his training over the last few years has been devoted to dealing with this birth defect, trying to keep his back strong and supple.

At the foot of Bolt's bed is a partially unpacked suitcase. He got back almost a week ago from a publicity trip to Kenya, where he adopted a baby cheetah on behalf of the Zeitz Foundation for Intercultural Ecosphere Safety, a nonprofit that the chief executive of the Puma Corporation founded. Puma has been Bolt's sponsor for years, and his suitcase is basically a grab bag of the Puma freebies that make up the bulk of his wardrobe: sneakers, shorts, socks, shirts. Right now he's wearing khaki cargo shorts and a white tee. Under his bed, three new-looking pairs of sneakers are lined up, tongues lolling, next to a remote control and a sealed condom. Another condom sits on a chest of drawers next to the bed, along with a bottle of Jergens Age-Defying Lotion, a stick of Right Guard Xtreme deodorant, a bottle of Purelene Multivitamin Hair Food, a few ounces of Hugo Boss cologne, a ceremonial key to the city of Trelawny, and the passport he used on his trip to Kenya. On his next trip abroad, he'll have a new passport, since Jamaica's prime minister just made him an ambassador-at-large, a designation that comes with the perk of a customs-bypassing diplomatic passport, not to mention full diplomatic immunity.

Over the past few hours, he and his brother have hardly talked to each other, though Bolt did berate Sadiki at length when a terrorist's dog knocked Bolt's avatar down and started chewing his face off and Sadiki didn't do anything about it. "One thing," Bolt moaned, "I only needed you to do one thing!"

A couple of times they've had to pause the game when NJ, Bolt's best friend since first grade and personal assistant since Beijing, escorted visitors into the bedroom on business. A man named Clive Campbell, whom everyone refers to as "Busy," wanted Bolt's permission to provide the BBC with some footage he had of Bolt playing soccer. A woman named Kim from a local BMW dealership had a bunch of T-shirts she needed Bolt to sign. After Kim left, Bolt sent NJ out on a mission to track down a twelve-month Xbox Live subscription card, and he and Sadiki have been playing uninterrupted since.

Bolt was born twenty-three years ago and grew up, like Sadiki and NJ, in a remote village called Sherwood Content in the northwest quadrant of the island, a long way from here, the King's Vale gated community in Kingston, where Bolt's jet-black 2010 Skyline GT-R — a replacement for the 2009 BMW M3 he wrecked last year — squats in the driveway of his cozily swank whitewashed three-bedroom house, a few paces from the maid's entrance. Bolt's dad operated, and still does, a little shop in Sherwood Content that sells meat, eggs, milk. His mother worked in the fields, picking bananas, cassava, yams. Bolt's hometown remains the same sleepy place it's always been, though there's been a minor yam push there recently, with at least one company planning to export the local tubers worldwide, marketing them as the primal foodstuff of Usain Bolt.

There's another burst of gunfire and Bolt's portion of the screen reddens with blood. He's leaning forward a bit, his forearms resting on his thighs, his shoulders hunched, tense. More gunfire and he dodges to the right, both in the real world and the virtual one, his crosshairs losing their target. He sucks in air through his teeth, his whole body taut with effort, with anxiety, bracing for a final hit, another failure. But then, suddenly, unexpectedly, Sadiki comes through, finding the last terrorist, taking him out.

A banner unfurls on the screen — "Mission Accomplished" — and in the space of a heartbeat, Bolt relaxes, exhaling, flopping backward onto the bed, stretching his long legs out in front of him, pumping his fist, smiling, exultant.

It was close, but he made it. He won.

It's worth keeping in mind that there is a significant difference between the final seconds of Usain Bolt's gold-medal run in Beijing in 2008 and the final seconds of his victory this afternoon in Call of Duty. In the video game, right up until the moment Sadiki took out the final terrorist, Bolt was on edge, nervous, uncertain. It taxed him. He almost lost.

Beating the video game was a challenge for him. Executing the most dominant and effortless performance in the history of the Olympic Games was not.

Ethan Siegel, a theoretical astrophysicist at Lewis & Clark College, recently charted a graph to demonstrate that, judging by the incremental progression of the 100-meter world record over the past hundred years, Bolt appears to be operating at a level approximately thirty years beyond that of the expected capabilities of modern man. Mathematically, Bolt belonged not in the 2008 Olympics but the 2040 Olympics. Michael Johnson, the hero of the 1996 Olympic summer games, has made the same point in a different way: A runner capable of beating Bolt, he says, "hasn't been born yet."

Which raises the question: What would happen if the greatest athlete alive put as much effort into his training as he does his video games?

Bolt is lying on his back on the concrete floor at the top of a set of crumbling aqua-painted bleachers, one arm on his chest, the other flopped out by his side, holding on to the leg of a nearby massage table, eyes closed, gasping. The bleachers overlook a raggedy track on the outskirts of the Kingston campus of the University of the West Indies. The grass of the track is a sun-faded, watercolor green, much paler than the green of the mountains that rise up just beyond it. The pounding of countless footfalls has worn the grass away entirely in places, leaving bald spots of red earth. Bolt has just run six 200-meter half-oval repeats on the track. It was his first serious workout in months, since his recent trip to Kenya was preceded by a lengthy media tour of New York City, where he found himself doing things like appearing on Jimmy Fallon and racing the staff members of ESPN.

"Hey, Usain."

Bolt opens his eyes, sees the Racers Track Club masseur standing over him. The masseur shakes his head, pats his own stomach while looking down at Bolt's.

"What?" Bolt says, grinning, pulling up his T-shirt, exposing a six-pack, though one that is perhaps a bit more insulated than those of many of the other runners here today. Before arriving at the track, Bolt had scarfed down a typical lunch: a sandwich of cheese patties and coco bread, eaten one-handed from a greasy brown paper bag, his other hand working the controls of the deejay deck in his living room. Bolt pulls his shirt back down. The shirt is, of course, another Puma. It features a stylized picture of Bolt striking his now famous "Lightning Bolt" pose, one arm stretched to the sky, the other pulled back as though drawing a bowstring. Under the picture, two words: "Who Faster?"

Bolt eventually sits up, pushes himself to his feet with an exaggerated groan, and strolls over to where some of the other runners are clustered together, talking about movies.

" Law Abiding Citizen, " says a hurdler, and then offers a five-word review: "Yo. Moronic! That shit's bad."

"Funny?" Bolt asks.

"No, not funny. Not anything."

Bolt likes movies almost as much as he likes video games. He might even star in a movie himself soon. The producer of Pumping Iron, the old documentary about Arnold Schwarzenegger, has been talking with his manager and wants to shoot a feature-length documentary about Bolt. But he's got mixed feelings about it. He thinks the movie would probably be a dud: "It would be boring. I don't really do much. Training. Play video games. Play music. I'm always home."

The quietest and youngest runner of the group is an eighteen-year-old 100-meter specialist named Jason Young. Young, by one measure, is blessed: He came from Bolt's hometown, attended Bolt's high school, excelled there, attracting the attention of Bolt's manager, who decided to take Young under his wing. Bolt himself has been kind to Young, makes an effort, often invites him over to his place to hang out and play Xbox.

By another measure, though, Young, like every other up-and-coming 100-meter specialist in the world today, is cursed. Over the last several decades, up until last year, the world-record time in the 100 meters dropped in tiny steps, the world's top sprinters swapping it back and forth, shaving off a hundredth of a second every year or so. Two or three elite runners at a time always seemed to be within a toe of the mark, while a wider pool of runners brought up the rear, poised to take their place among the elite. Bolt, by replacing the incremental drop in the world record with an exponential one, by doing approximately thirty years of damage in a single year, has undermined the fondest aspirations of an entire generation. Who faster? Nobody. Here or anywhere. Not now, and probably not for a very long time.

Glen Mills, who has been Bolt's coach since 2005, is down on the field, watching another one of his runners skip sideways down a row of hurdles, the young man's legs kicking up and over each one like a chorus girl's. A digital stopwatch hangs from Mills's thick neck, dangling just above his potbelly. Mills has close-cut gray hair, narrow eyes, a perpetually sardonic expression. Were someone to have charted a graph depicting Bolt's story up to the point that Mills became his coach, it would have shown a steep parabolic trajectory, a rapid rise followed by a precipitous fall. Like many promising runners, Bolt had come out of nowhere, burned brightly for a few years — setting a number of junior records — then appeared to have burned out. In 2004, at seventeen years old, Bolt made the Jamaican national team and competed in that year's Olympic Games in Athens, but his performance there was poor: He never made it past the first round in his only event, the 200 meters. His progress stalled, then reversed.

"When I got him, he was injured," Mills says. "Also, his coordination and all those things were off. And his scoliosis was affecting his hamstring. So we had to do some work." Much of that work consisted of not working so hard. Mills cut down on Bolt's high-intensity workouts and put him instead on a training regimen that emphasized strength and flexibility, building up his core muscles to compensate for his problematic spine, honing Bolt's body and technique until he was ready to fully harness his gift. Although Bolt continued to compete, for the two years of 2006 and 2007, he didn't place first in any races. It wasn't until 2008 that Mills's training regimen came to fruition, and the world took notice of what had been taking root at this worn track on the grounds of an old Kingston sugar plantation.

Soon Mills noticed that some of his younger runners, realizing that they could never hope to match Bolt but not prepared to give up their world-conquering dreams, shifted their attention from the 100- and 200-meter distances to other events, to hurdles or longer distances in which they might still hope to make a mark. The 400, for example.

As it happens, a group of five 400-meter runners is rounding the oval right now, their last circuit of today's practice, and though it's not a real race, you can tell from across the field that they're trying hard, shoulders stiffening, cheeks bellowing, each wanting to win. Bolt and the others stand up and cup their hands to their mouths and start shouting encouragement. Bolt rarely races the 400, hates the long practices, the lung-searing, vomit-inducing arduousness of the extra training required to run that distance at an elite level. Still, he thinks that someday he might give the 400 a serious go. And the general consensus in the world track community is that if he were ever to dedicate himself to the 400, he could dominate it as thoroughly as he has the 100 and 200. And after that? Who knows. But he's kind of interested in the long jump, too. At this point, there's every reason to believe that Bolt is like Alexander in his prime, a young conqueror whose future conquests will not be determined by ability but simply by desire and discipline.

As the pack of 400-meter runners approaches the bleachers, the final bend, Bolt suddenly skips down the steps to the track. He's taken off his running shoes, is back in his usual pair of blue Puma flip-flops. When the runners come abreast of him, Bolt shoots a smile back at his friends in the bleachers, jumps out beside the straining, struggling runners, and sprints easily to the finish line in first place, arms raised in mock victory.

The route from the track back to Bolt's house passes a billboard that evidently has been up for a while. It's an ad for a local car dealership, and it features a picture of Asafa Powell leaning up against a Mercedes. "The Fastest Man in the World," it reads. Asafa Powell's world-record time in the 100, set in September 2007, was 9.74. Usain Bolt's latest, set at the World Championships in Berlin in August 2009, is 9.58. Incidentally, toward the end of that race, just as he had in Beijing, Bolt glanced over his shoulder and, seeing nobody was near him, slowed down before the finish line.

Powell and Bolt, though they train with different coaches, are friends. In fact, as soon as Bolt gets home, he will shower, change into slacks and a short-sleeved button-down shirt, and head out to the Pegasus Hotel, which is hosting an event honoring the launch of the Asafa Powell Foundation. At the event, in front of a crowd of a couple hundred people dressed in suits and gowns, Bolt will present Powell with a check. Later, at the podium, Powell will mumble good-naturedly that public speaking, for him, is as impossible a task as beating Usain Bolt.

Other runners, past and present, haven't been so gracious. Carl Lewis, for example, suggested in 2008 that anyone who, like Usain Bolt, can drop his 100-meter time from 10.03 seconds to 9.69 in a year has to be viewed with skepticism.

Darvis Patton, an American sprinter who ran in the 100-meter final against Bolt in Berlin, was asked for a comment about Bolt immediately after the race. Patton shook his head, then echoed the video-game analogy Ato Boldon had employed the year before in Beijing, but with an ambiguous twist. "There are no words to describe him. He's like a created, game person," Patton said. Then he thought for a moment and added, "He's like a cheat code."

Bolt, of course, swears he's not cheating. He says he doesn't even like to take legal supplements, that he's willing to be tested anytime, anywhere.

But Bolt's manager, Norman Peart, is keenly aware that it will take more than words to make his client wholly credible. It's only natural that people are skeptical, he says. He brings up the cases of Marion Jones and Justin Gatlin, two American 100-meter champions whose careers were destroyed not long ago by drug revelations. Prior to the revelations, Peart says, Jones and Gatlin had repeatedly "sat down just like me and you, and they went, 'I have never!' And 'I'm gonna sue so and so!' And they cried. And then ..." He shrugs. "Just the same way [Bolt looks], that's the way Marion looked, that's the same way Justin looked. Who are we to believe?"

The problem is compounded by the fact that these days there are plenty of substances Bolt could be taking, from human-growth hormone to designer steroids, that remain effectively undetectable.

"You can beat the system," Peart says. "You try to get something they can't find. Whatever. So that's the thing in people's minds: Are these guys one step ahead?"

Actually, putting all questions of chemistry aside, Bolt is not just one step ahead but three. When he set his latest 100-meter record, it took him forty-one steps to reach the finish line. The second-place finisher, the American Tyson Gay, required forty-four steps to cover the same distance. So the simplest, most literal explanation for Bolt's speed is this: He cycles his stride nearly as quickly as other sprinters, but his stride length, owing to his longer legs, is significantly greater than theirs. Or even simpler: He's a tall man who runs like a shorter one.

"That's his gift," Coach Mills says. "Over everyone else. That's what makes him special."

And what's the explanation for this gift?

"Only the good Lord can tell you," says Mills.

Which is to say, whether you believe in Usain Bolt is ultimately a matter of faith.

There's another HDTV hanging on the wall in Bolt's living room, above a shelf that is packed, like most available surface area in this house, with various awards and memorials, including a two-foot-tall abstract bronze statue of Bolt in which he looks kind of like the Sandman villain from Spider-Man, his skin sloughing off in waves. The TV is tuned to MTV Jams, which is showing the video for the new Chris Brown song, "I Can Transform Ya," but you can't hear Chris Brown at all because Bolt is blasting, at club-level volume, from speakers hooked up to a set of Pioneer deejay decks on a coffee table, Bob Marley's "One Love." Actually, you can't really hear Bob Marley, either, because Bolt has used the mixer to fade Marley's vocals and is singing the chorus himself. He's sitting on an overstuffed leather sofa, holding a wired mic flush against his lips. A pair of headphones scissors his skull above his ears. He's got a high, paper-thin singing voice.

"Let's get together and feel all right," he croons, holding a hand out toward an imaginary crowd. "Sing it together," he says. "Sing it!"

Most of the people in this room — Sadiki, NJ, and Bolt's bodyguard — aren't paying any attention to him. They're all busy doing other things, texting or Facebooking or Web surfing. They're used to these midafternoon deejaying sessions of his, used to ignoring them. Deejaying fascinates Bolt. He even entered a deejaying competition recently, and he lost to a former Miss Jamaica World. Undeterred, he remains a diligent, if not particularly precocious, student, keen to learn and get better. Most afternoons, he spends an hour or so here in his living room and tries to get his utterly disinterested entourage moving.

When they refuse to sing along to "One Love," he finishes up one more round of the chorus himself, then fades the song all the way down.

"Yeah, and we end that one on a good note," he says in a sort of self-consciously baritone deejay voice, smiling broadly, then executes a few scratches on his deck's turntable before using his MacBook to cue up the next song.

"All right, let's try some hip-hop," he says. "No more reggae now. You know what I'm gonna play now? Anyone know what I'm gonna play?"

" 'You're a Jerk,' " NJ says, sounding bored, without looking up from his own laptop.

"You know?" Bolt says, looking surprised, and a moment later the first verse of the song, which is the same as the chorus, which is the same as the title, fills the room.

"You're a jerk! You're a jerk! You're a jerk!"

The song is by a group called the New Boyz. It's hard to call it a song, actually, since it's more of a single hook line repeated, ad nauseam, over a desiccated drum-and-synth beat. It originated last year in southern California and has since spawned a minor dance craze, The Jerk, which washed up in Kingston. Bolt throws himself into it, dancing as best he can on the couch, his arms executing rhythmic backward circles, as though he were doing a sort of flailing backstroke.

His friends continue to ignore him.

The head of the International Olympic Committee criticized Bolt's dancing during the 2008 Olympics, saying that Bolt's dances after his gold-medal performances in the 100 meters, 200 meters, and 4x100-meter relay — dances known respectively as the Nuh Linga, the Gully Creepa, and the Tek Weh Yuhself — smacked of showboating and were disrespectful to the other athletes. The criticism of his dancing was part of the larger critique that's often leveled against him, which is that he doesn't take running seriously enough. There's a perception in some quarters of the athletic community that Usain Bolt is the Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart of track and field, a prodigiously gifted individual who is also something of a wastrel and clown. Certain people, when they see a man perform superhuman feats, want that man to carry himself with superhuman gravity. Bolt, by this measure, never fails to disappoint.

And personally, he couldn't care less. When he was younger, he says, the only thing he wanted to do was please everybody around him, from his fans to the media. But after his disastrous showing in Athens in 2004, Bolt sussed out the heartless calculus that underpins critical and public opinion: "I figured out that as long as you're not doing good, they're going to criticize you, and if you're doing good, they're going to love you." The epiphany was a liberating one, in that it allowed him to disregard basically everything — from the dizzying adulation to the steroid speculation — that people have thrown at him since then. "I figured it out, and I was like, okay ... I've gotta put me first. And then I just started enjoying it."

He tries to get Sadiki to get up and do the Jerk, but Sadiki's busy on his BlackBerry, so about thirty seconds into the song, Bolt throws off his headphones, puts down his mic, jumps over the coffee table, and does it himself, his Puma flip-flops sliding on the tiled floor as he starts sort of skipping backward in place. It's a goofy dance, but he's a good dancer.

His entourage can't ignore him anymore, and they're watching him now, but he doesn't see them. He's got his eyes closed, his ears open, his body moving.

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Usain St. Leo Bolt

Arguably the most naturally gifted athlete the world has ever seen, Usain St Leo Bolt, created history at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio when he achieved the ‘Triple Triple’, three gold medals at three consecutive Olympic Games. Usain’s journey to worldwide stardom started at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing where he won the 100m, 200m and 4x100m, all in world record times. He followed this up with three gold medals in the same events at the 2012 Olympic Games in London to write his name in the history books as the world’s fastest man. Then, one day before his 30th birthday, he completed the same triple at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio to cement his legacy as a legend in world sport.

In addition to his nine Olympic Games gold medals, Usain won eleven World T&F Championships titles. He completed the 100m, 200m and 4x100m sweeps at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, 2013 World Championships in Moscow and 2015 World Championships in Beijing. He won the 200m and 4x100m at the World Championships in Daegu in 2011.

Usain currently holds the world records in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m with times of 9.58 secs, 19.19 secs and 36.84 secs. His first world record was in the 100m in 2008 when he posted a time of 9.72 secs in New York. He lowered it to 9.69 secs at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and then to 9.58 secs at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin. He holds the three fastest times ever run 9.58, 9.64 and 9.69. Also in 2008 in Beijing, he set a new 200m world record taking 0.02 off Michael Johnson’s previous mark with a time of 19.30 secs. He lowered this time further to 19.19 secs in Berlin in 2009, a time which may stand for years to come. As part of the Jamaican 4x100m team, Usain broke three world records – 37.10 secs in Beijing in 2008, 37.04 secs in Daegu in 2011 and 36.84 in London in 2012. Jamaican teams with Usain have seven of the ten fastest 4x100m times in history.

Coach Glen Mills

Coach Glen Mills is widely recognised as one of the world’s top sprint coaches.  He was Head Coach of the Jamaican team between 1987 and 2009.  He started working with Usain in 2004 and was instrumental in developing the talented junior into the world’s fastest man.  As Head Coach of Racers Track Club, Mills took the clean sweep in the 200m at the 2012 Olympic Games with Usain, Yohan Blake and Warren Weir winning gold, silver and bronze.  Usain often describes Coach Mills as his mentor and like a ‘second father’.

World Records

100m – 9.58 seconds Berlin, 2009 200m – 19.19 seconds Berlin, 2009 4x100m – 36.84 seconds London, 2012

While the world celebrates this precocious talent, this was a dream waiting to happen and not just an overnight sensation.

As early as age 14, young Usain was opening eyes with his lightning speed from regional championships in western Jamaica to national meets set in Kingston to meets in the wider Caribbean. Usain’s ascent to the pinnacle of world sprinting started with the most unlikely of events as his first medal at any meet came in the 80 hurdles in Class Three at Western Champs held on the campus of his Alma Mater William Knibb Memorial High in Martha Brae, Trelawny when he ‘jumped’ his way to a bronze medal.

Because he towered above his peers even then, Bolt was also entered in the high jump event and was a promising fast bowler in cricket before been encouraged to channel his energies on the track. By 2001, Bolt became a known commodity and he sent signals that he would be a world beater in early 2002 when he cruised to a hand timed 20.3 seconds to win the 200m at Western Champs finals at Catherine Hall.

Later that year he went on to win the 200m/400m double at CARIFTA Trials before winning four gold medals at the meet held in Nassau, Bahamas.

He announced his arrival to the wider global audience in July 2002 when at the IAAF World Junior T&F Championships in Kingston in front of the biggest crowd ever to watch this meet, he won the host nation’s only individual gold medal, winning the 200m in 20.61 seconds. He left that meet with three medals including two silver medals in the 4x100m and 4x400m relays.

That was the start of a meteoric climb to the top that also saw him winning the World U18 200m title in 2003 and two IAAF Rising Star awards.

It was not always smooth sailing however as injuries slowed him down at several junctures of his career.

Soon after breaking the Word Junior Record in the 200m with a time of 19.93 seconds at the CARIFTA Games in Hamilton, Bermuda in 2004, Bolt was slowed by a troublesome hamstring injury. He qualified for the final of the 200m at the 2005 IAAF World T&F Championships in Helsinki, Finland but in cold and wet weather pulled up before the finish holding his hamstring.

He missed what turned out to be a ‘Jamaican party’ at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Australia in 2006 when he suffered another hamstring injury while running a leg of the 4x400m relay for the IAAF High performance Centre’s team at the Gibson Relays in Kingston. Jamaican athletes swept all the sprint events at the meet, despite his absence.

Fortunately, he recovered well enough later that year to set a personal best of 19.88 secs in the 200m and place second in the 200m at the IAAF World Cup of Athletics in Stuttgart, Germany.

2007 was the breakthrough year in that he broke the 30 year old Jamaican 200m Record, held by the great Donald Quarrie, with a time of 19.75 secs to win the Jamaican Senior T&F Championships. He went to the 2007 IAAF World T&F Championships in Osaka, Japan in good form and won two silver medals in the 200m and 4x 100m relay.

2008 was Usain’s breakout year when he rewrote the history books and became one of the biggest sports stars on the planet. Since then he has gone from strength to strength with his heroic achievements at the Olympic Games in Beijing, London and Rio and at the IAAF World T&F Championships in Berlin, Daegu, Moscow & Beijing.

Usain has been awarded the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year on four occasions (2009, 2010, 2013 & 2017); the IAAF Male Athlete of the Year six times (2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016) as well as many awards in many countries in all corners of the world. He has a clothing line with Puma; a range of signature watches with Hublot; a restaurant chain called ‘Tracks & Records’; an esports team ‘Wylde’, an insole company Enertor; the ‘Usain Bolt Foundation’ and he is an ambassador for some of the top brands in the world.

Olympic Gold Medals

World championship gold medals.

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Olympic Sprinter Usain Bolt Is Inspiring a New Generation of Athletes: "Anything Is Possible"

In addition to playing professional soccer, the fastest man alive and eight-time gold medalist has steadily been making strides to positively impact his native country of Jamaica. 

In the universal realm of sport, there are stars, and then there are supernovas. That said, there’s still only one Usain St. Leo Bolt. Born August 21, 1986, in Sherwood Content, Jamaica, Bolt gravitated to athletic competition, but not in the traditional track and field realm for which he became a record-smashing legend. His first loves were cricket and soccer, and had it not been for his youth coaches at William Knibb Memorial High School suggesting that the lanky kid with a big heart, undeniable charm, and infectious humor try his hand at sprinting, the world would unequivocally be a sadder place as the electrifying athlete has shown he’s not just a titan in his field and an all-time Olympic great, like Bob Marley, he’s also a hero to all those in the Jamaican communities he’s on a mission to uplift.

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Usain Bolt's Medals and Records

Standing at a staggering six-feet, five-inches, one would think that Usain Bolt fits better alongside the Golden State Warriors’ point guard Stephen Curry, not dominating the world’s best sprinters on his way to capturing eight gold medals. But the truth is often stranger than fiction, and Bolt never let his paradoxical frame — one that confounded pundits and paralyzed the competition — ever deter him from achieving greatness. While his first Games in Athens, Greece did not produce any accolades for the emerging phenom due to a nagging hamstring injury, the 2008 Olympic stage in Beijing, China was an entirely different story. With the goal of emulating former Team USA Olympic great Carl Lewis and fueled by critics who labeled him as lazy, Bolt stunned the world, earning gold medals in both the 100m and 200m race, but that only painted part of the picture. The lean machine with an idiosyncratic style not only won the 100m with a shoe untied, he accomplished what many proclaimed to be the impossible: in the process of torching the competition in the 200m on his 22 nd birthday, he also beat Michael Johnson ’s iconic record of 19.32 seconds by two hundredths that the American, golden-booted sprinter set at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. Forget the Sweet n’ Sour sauce — those 100 McDonald’s chicken nuggets  per day in Beijing provided him all the mojo a growing champion needed.   Though Bolt earned an additional gold in the 4x100m relay in Beijing, which was later vacated in 2017, following a retest of his teammate’s Nesta Carter’s blood that revealed a banned substance, Bolt defended his reign by capturing a trifecta of gold medals – the 100m, the 200m and 4x100m relay — at the 2012 Games in London and the 2016 Games in Rio. The history books will forever shine brightly on Bolt as he’s the only athlete to ever win the 100m and 200m in three consecutive Olympiads, and his 100m record of 9.58 seconds he set in 2009 — a race in which he eclipsed 27.5 miles per hour — still stands, making him truly the fastest human on the planet.

Why did Usain Bolt retire from Olympic competition?

Having suffered hamstring injuries early in his career before his first Games in Athens, Greece, the impact of those debilitating traumas is what ultimately curtailed Usain Bolt from making it into future Olympic Games. Coupled with lingering back issues that stem from the chronic stress his six-foot-five frame endured over the course of his career, the Jamaican legend officially retired from competitive sprinting after he pulled up early in the 4x100m relay event with another hamstring injury during the 2017 World Championships. Despite only being 30 years old, when it comes to Olympic sprinters, it takes a lot to gear up and refuel the tank, and according to Sports Illustrated , Bolt was never a big fan of the intense training that went into making him great and was finally able to put that part of his career behind him. In an era where doping from his peers tarnished his sport, the brilliance behind Bolt’s dominant performances cannot be overstated.

Usain Bolt's Soccer Career

There’s nothing that tops seeing your dreams come to fruition, and for Usain Bolt, who had long desired since childhood to play soccer at an elite level, Bolt made his pro debut in 2018 with the Central Coast Mariners in the A-League, Australia’s top flight. Though he’s a diehard fan of Manchester United, he worked out for Borussia Dortmund in Germany’s top flight, even scoring with a header, but the Bundesliga heavyweights did not offer him a contract, and when negotiations with the Mariners broke down, according to Sports Illustrated , he walked away from further chasing down his first love of sports.  

“I don’t want to say it wasn’t dealt with properly, but I think we went about it, not the way we should," Bolt revealed, per SI’s reporting. "You learn your lesson, you live and you learn.” He continued, “It was a good experience. I really enjoyed just being in a team, and it was much different from track and field, and it was fun while it lasted.”

Though he was not able to convert his trial opportunities into any meaningful long-term contracts, he converted twice on the pitch in a pre-season friendly during his time with the Mariners down under.

RELATED: Michael Phelps Welcomes Newborn with Wife Nicole, Shares Cute Pic of Their 4 Boys

Television and Media Appearances

Considering the prolific nature of Usain Bolt’s career on the track, it should come as no surprise that the fastest man in the earthly realm has been featured in every daytime and nighttime talk show under the sun, but he’s also been the subject of several documentaries and docuseries. According to IMDB , he’s appeared alongside the Argentinian talisman Lionel Messi in Goat Camp (2020) and worked with LeBron James, Tom Brady, Marcus Rashford, Russell Wilson and Lindsey Vonn in Greatness Code (2020) . He also produced the Gatorade-distributed, animated short film The Boy Who Learned to Fly (2016) , which delves into Bolt’s life prior to his success on the track. Bolt even made a cameo appearance with Jason Sudeikis on Saturday Night Live (2012) , participating in a hilarious parody debate  between Joe Biden and Paul Ryan (jump to minute 7:20 for that gem), and he provided a priceless new character on the tried-and-true “Californians” sketch, where he lit up the screen with bleach-blonde hair and a version of the signature Cali accent you don’t want to miss.

What is Usain Bolt doing now?

It’s difficult to imagine that there will ever be another Olympic sprinter like Usain Bolt, but as bold of a legacy as he leaves behind on the track, since retiring from all athletic competitions, his life’s mission has now turned to inspiring youth athletes in his native country of Jamaica. The man whose striking pose of a lightning bolt that would make even Zeus jealous is confident that he can be a vital ambassador for the sport.

"I'm still waiting on a position from [World Athletics], I've reached out to them and let them know I would love to make a bigger impact in sports, as long as they want me to,” Bolt mentioned to Reuters in May of last year. "It's going to be a process. After me, it kind of went down because of who I was as a person, and how big my personality was.” "But I think over time it will be better,” continued the charismatic Olympic legend. “I think young athletes are coming up, and I see a few personalities that are needed in sport, hopefully in the upcoming years it will change. Hopefully I can play a part and help the sport to grow."

But inspiring the future generations is only part of how Bolt is ensuring he makes a lasting impact on the world. Through his philanthropic enterprise, The Usain Bolt Foundation , the eight-time gold medalist, who shares three children with his longtime girlfriend Kasi Bennett, is creating “opportunities through education and cultural development for a positive change” for the enrichment of children’s lives all across Jamaica. He has partnered with Epson to provide printers to several primary schools throughout his homeland as well as participating in a separate initiative to give 150 laptop computers to students in rural Jamaica. With the help of his friend and billionaire mogul Richard Branson, Bolt helped launch the Caribbean Climate-Smart Accelerator as its ambassador, aiming to make 26 countries in the region, which covers one million square miles and supports more than 40 million people, the world’s first climate-smart zone, according to the World Bank . He’s even producing songs, like “Cryptic World,” that aim to address and tackle the many social issues that Jamaica faces.  

In attending the Expo 2020 Dubai, Bolt spoke to CNN’s Becky Anderson about also his critically important work with special needs athletes.  

“For me, it’s just all about to show determination, and for me, to see them go out there and work as hard as they do, it also inspires me to know that they have this disability, but they never give up.” Bolt said. “They want to be great athletes as well.” He added, “For me, it’s just to leave a legacy to prove to people that anything is possible.”

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Usain Bolt Biography

Usain Bolt, the greatest sprinter in the history of mankind, has achieved unparalleled success in the world of track and field. With nine gold medals in Olympic events, including the remarkable ‘triple-triple’, Bolt’s dominance is unmatched. From his early days as a laid-back athlete to his transformation into a world-class runner, Bolt’s journey is one of determination and resilience. Despite facing setbacks, Bolt made a triumphant comeback and solidified his status as the greatest sprinter in modern Olympic history.

Quick Facts

• Girlfriend: Kasi Bennett
• Also Known As: Usain St. Leo Bolt
• Age: 37 Years, 37 Year Old Males
• Father: Wellesley Bolt
• Mother: Jennifer Bolt
• Siblings: Sadiki Bolt, Sherine Bolt
• Born Country: Jamaica
• Jamaican Men
• Height: 6’5″ (196 cm), 6’5″ Males
• Humanitarian Work: Helped victims of the ‘Siachen’ earthquake
• Awards: Olympics Games – 9 Gold Medals

Childhood & Early Life

Usain St Leo Bolt was born on August 21, 1986, in Sherwood Content, Jamaica, to Jennifer and Wellesley Bolt. He grew up in a family of three children. His parents ran a shop selling groceries to make ends meet. Bolt attended Waldensia Primary, where he showed his talent as a sprinter by winning many 10-meter running contests.

Later, Bolt moved to William Knibb Memorial High School, where he initially played cricket. However, his coach recognized his potential as an athlete and encouraged him to try sprinting. Bolt participated in the 200-meter racing event at school and finished it in just 22.04 seconds.

Bolt’s career took off when he was coached by former sprinter Pablo McNeil. In 2001, he participated in the IAAF World Youth Championship and finished the 200m event in 21.73 seconds. He then won the 2002 World Junior Championships in Jamaica, completing the race in 20.61 seconds.

In 2003, Bolt made waves in the sports world with his performance at the CARIFTA Games. He also set new records in the 200m and 400m events at the Jamaican High School Championships.

2004 was a significant year for Bolt as he participated in the CARIFTA Games, World Junior Championships, and Athens Olympics. Although he faced an injury setback in the Olympic qualifier event, he continued to excel in sprinting.

Under the guidance of coach Glen Mills, Bolt achieved a remarkable win in a 200m event in 2005, finishing the race in 19.99 seconds. He also performed better in the 2005 World Championships compared to his previous year’s performance.

In 2006, Bolt had to withdraw from the Commonwealth Games due to a severe hamstring injury. However, he bounced back in 2007 at the World Championship, covering 200m in 19.91 seconds.

Despite doubts about his experience, Bolt qualified for the 100m final event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He won the 100m final in 9.69 seconds and the 200m final with a new Olympic record of 19.30 seconds. He also won a gold medal in the 4x100m relay.

Bolt continued to break records at the 2009 Berlin World Championships, winning gold in both the 100m and 200m events with world record times. He also won a gold medal in the 4x100m relay.

In the following years, Bolt continued to dominate the track, winning multiple gold medals at the World Championships and Olympics. He achieved the “triple-triple” at the 2016 Rio Olympics, winning gold in the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relay events.

After the 2017 World Championships, Bolt retired from track and field. He briefly trained with the Australian A-League club Central Coast Mariners but decided not to pursue a career in football.

Personal Life & Legacy

Bolt has fond memories of playing cricket and football with his brother Sadiki during his childhood. He has shown his humanitarian side by contributing to the victims of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. Bolt is a fan of Manchester United and supports Dutch football player Ruud Van Nistelrooy.

In 2020, Bolt started dating Kasi Bennett, and they welcomed their daughter Olympia Bolt. In 2021, they welcomed twin sons named Thunder and Saint Leo.

Bolt has expressed interest in playing in the cricket tournament The Big Bash League but did not participate.

Awards and Achievements

Throughout his career, Bolt has received numerous honors and achievements. He won his first gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics and continued to win gold medals at subsequent Olympics and World Championships. He holds world records in the 100m and 200m events.

Bolt expressed his interest in playing in the popular cricket tournament The Big Bash League but did not participate.

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Usain Bolt Book for Kids: The biography of the fastest man on earth for young athletes (Legends for Kids) Paperback – Large Print, January 13, 2024

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USAIN BOLT BOOK FOR KIDS:

Embark on a lightning-fast journey with the 'Usain Bolt Book for Kids, ' a dazzling tale that races through the incredible life of the world's fastest man! Join the sprinting sensation, Usain Bolt, on an exhilarating adventure from his childhood dreams to Olympic gold glory. Bursting with vibrant illustrations and engaging storytelling, this book is a celebration of determination, resilience, and the sheer joy of running. From the starting blocks of his Jamaican roots to the finish line of global stardom, Bolt's story is a beacon of inspiration for young readers. Get ready to be enchanted by the magic of speed, the power of dreams, and the thrill of becoming a legend. Lace up your sneakers, little champions, and sprint alongside Usain Bolt in this captivating read that will leave you inspired to chase your own dreams at full speed!

 Features:

• Large print for easy reading.
• Filled with illustrations and Images for more interesting reading.
• Top notch quality colored paper quality.
• Suitable for gifts and presents.

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• Reading age 6 - 12 years
• Print length 70 pages
• Language English
• Dimensions 8.5 x 0.19 x 11 inches
• Publisher Verity Books
• Publication date January 13, 2024
• ISBN-10 3119948705
• ISBN-13 978-3119948708
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Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Verity Books; Large type / Large print edition (January 13, 2024)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 70 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 3119948705
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-3119948708
• Reading age ‏ : ‎ 6 - 12 years
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8.5 ounces
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.5 x 0.19 x 11 inches
• #56 in Children's Track & Field Books
• #63 in Children's Olympics Books
• #542 in Children's Sports Biographies (Books)

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