Lightning Bolt Strikes London Olympics

The first week of the London Olympics has had its share of drama, excitement and controversy. Thus far it has been a memorable Olympiad, with swimming and gymnastics leading the way as always. Week One provided an exclamation point to swimmer Michal Phelps’ career when he broke the record for most Olympic medals with a total of 22. I don’t see that record being broken any time soon. Great stuff, indeed.

As much as I enjoy watching the other events, it is always a treat once we get to Day One of track and field. It epitomizes the Olympic motto of “citius, altius, fortius”, or, for those who prefer the Queen’s English, “faster, higher, stronger”.

After a few days of track and field, it is readily apparent that we have a new legend to discuss. His name? Usain Bolt.

The greatest thing about track and field, much like swimming, is that it is very objective. There is no subjectivity in scoring the degree of difficulty or the artistic impression. The longest throw or the fastest run wins. Simple.

Over the years we have seen some tremendous performances in track. I was sitting in Olympic Stadium in Atlanta in 1996 when Michael Johnson won the gold medal in the 200 meters. To this day, that may stand as one of the greatest human performances I have ever witnessed live. Johnson broke a 17 year-old world record (19.72 seconds) with a 19.66 seconds at the Olympic Trials, then followed that up with the otherworldly 19.32 seconds in the Olympic final. I’ve never seen anything like it.

Until now.

Usain Bolt has now won the 100 and 200 meters at consecutive Olympics. That is something that has never happened before today. The difficulty behind that feat is staggering. Not only did he win, but in all four events he completely demolished the opposition. Bolt ran a 19.32 in the 200 meter final today while looking up at the video screen over the last 10 to 20 meters. In the 100 meters, he ran 9.63 seconds.

Should that not be legendary enough, he also owns the world record in the 100 meters (9.58 seconds) and the 200 meters (19.19 seconds). That is essentially the same running pace for both events – 23 mph! Your car might be hard-pressed to beat him from stop sign to stop sign. His Olympic gold medals aren’t just timing – he is, and has always been, fast. He has yet another tell-tale sign of a great athlete: he is always on his game when he needs to be.

If speed wasn’t enough, then Bolt wins another gold medal for personality as well. He is certainly entertaining and he always looks like he is enjoying what he is doing – another one of those “great athlete” hallmarks.

Bolt told Lewis Johnson of NBC in the post-event interview that he would be back for Rio 2016. I certainly hope so. A three time Olympic champion? We will have to wait until 2016 to find out – but I for one certainly wouldn’t bet against it.

Photo credits: Nick J Webb