Usain Bolt

Usain Bolt has retired.
And it makes me feel old.
It seems like just yesterday that Usain Bolt chest thumped his way to a record breaking time of 9.69 sec in the Beijing Olympics.
Before the Beijing Olympics, Usain Bolt was being hyped as the next big thing in sprinting.
I remember watching with excitement and anticipation of something special about to happen and when it did happen, I was stunned in silence. Never before had I seen a performance so dominating. He destroyed the competition, celebrated with a chest thump before he crossed the line and still smashed the world record. Imagine breaking the world record and having people wonder how fast he could have been if only he didn't do the chest thump. He answered it next year in Berlin when he lowered the record to 9.58 sec.

Usain Bolt won the 100m, 200m and 4x100m Gold Medals in the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Olympics and broke the world record in all three events all in times that made even the past legends drop their jaw. Search for Michael Johnson's reaction on Usain Bolt's records for example. He also won numerous Gold medals at the World Championships and other events.

More than the records and the medals, Usain Bolt will forever be remembered for bringing the glamour back to sprinting. The 100m sprint has always attracted fans across the world. Whether you follow the sport regularly or are a casual fan or have never played any sport ever, com Olympics everyone tuned in to find out who the fastest human being was. For humans walking/running is the most natural physical activity and doing it as fast as you gets your competitive juices flowing.

However, for more than a couple of decades, the sport of sprinting suffered. The 100m race just didn't have that appeal. Make no mistake the athletes were running faster than ever but still it didn't generate the enthusiasm one associated with the premier event of the Olympics. Why was this? One word, doping.

When Ben Johnson beat Carl Lewis in a marquee matchup at the 1988 Seoul Olympics in a world record time of 9.79 it was universally lauded as the biggest moment in sprinting history. In three days, however, the euphoria came crashing down when Ben Johnson was found guilty of doping. For me it was the biggest shock of my life. I was old enough to understand that Ben Johnson had been disqualified for doing something illegal, but still young enough to be confused about why anyone would cheat.

The ghost of Ben Johnson was always present in the next couple of Olympics. Even when Donovan Bailey set a new world record of 9.84 in the 1996 Olympics, it just didn't feel important. We had seen 9.79 even though it carried the taint of doping. Could humans not run faster without doping ? When Maurice Greene finally matched Ben Johnson's 9.79 , the reaction wad more relief than ecstasy. The ghost of doping was finally behind us.

Or was it? The highest profile athlete in women's sprinting, Marion Jones, was found guilty of doping. Justin Gatlin who won the 2004 Olympics Gold medal has been banned twice for doping. Maurice Greene himself has a cloud of suspicion over him. Tyson Gay, the second fastest human being in history has been banned for doping. On a side note, for all the posturing the USA does when athletes from other nations are found guilty of doping, it has a lot to answer for it's own transgressions. Nesta Carter was found guilty of doping costing Usain and Jamaica the gold in 4x100m in the Beijing Olympics.

When you add all the doping scandals, you begin to understand just how invaluable Usain Bolt has been for sprinting. For all his incredulous records, there isn't even a hint of suspicion on him. He has welcomed all tests and never had even a minor infraction. He has publicly spoken against doping and cheating of all types. Not only did he stretch the boundaries of human excellence, he showed us progress is possible through sheer determination and grit. And natural evolution, to be fair. No doping required.

Usain Bolt brought the glamour back to sprinting. People are interested in who will be the next Usain Bolt. More importantly, Usain Bolt made us believe humans will get stronger, faster and reach higher just by persisting.

When my nephew runs fast and poses as Usain Bolt, I feel happy and proud to tell him about the greatest athlete of all time.

Thank you, Usain Bolt.