In the race to decide the fastest man on earth, Usain Bolt was unconcerned when US rival Justin Gatlin stole an early lead.
“If you see it in replays, it looks works worse
than it felt in the race,” he said in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday. “I know
he always gets a good start and I knew had to take my time and chip away
at the lead.”
The Olympic final of the men’s 100 metres would not seem to afford much time for chipping away, but Bolt reeled in his rival
by the halfway mark, overtaking him to become the first man to win the
Olympic title three times — and confirm his status as the greatest
sprinter in history.
Finishing in 9.81 seconds, Bolt also notched another mark on the 50
fastest 100m times ever recorded. Before Sunday, 29 of those runs
belonged to fellow Jamaicans — many from Bolt himself and contemporaries
Asafa Powell and Yohan Blake.
Women sprinters follow the pattern: most recently, Elaine Thompson picked up gold in the women’s 100m in Rio on Saturday.
So why does Jamaica, an island nation of 2.7m, produce athletes that
so handily trounce those from the US, a far richer country with a
population of around 320m?
For Bolt, it’s the island’s unique
sporting culture. Sprinters, rather than footballers, are the nation’s
superstars; the annual schools athletics competition, called “Champs”,
is played to packed stadiums and televised. The times set by these
juniors can trump those of national champions in most other countries.
So
the 29-year old Bolt in the starting blocks in Rio was long-trained in
the ways of bruising battles played out before big audiences. He has
previously suggested that repeated victories over Powell, his fellow
countryman, is partly because of Bolt’s experience in the schools
athletics competition. Powell’s school did not always qualify for the
event.
“It’s just that we have a good system,” said Bolt. “Boys
and girls Champs keeps producing more and more athletes. For years to
come, we will have the great athletes to win.”
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