The Paris 2024 Olympics didn’t disappoint. It proves that there is, in fact, life after Usain Bolt.
Usain Bolt is the greatest sprinter of all time
Usain Bolt did the unthinkable by winning the treble-double of sprinting at the Olympic Games. The Man United fan born in Sherwood Content, Jamaica, scooped golds in the 100m and 200m events at three consecutive games in Beijing, London and Rio de Janeiro.
Multiple world record holder
Bolt holds the world records in the 100m, 20om and 4x100m relay events to this day. Nobody ever thought we’d see a sub-9.60 time in the 100m event but Bolt put paid to those claims in Berlin in 2009 with a stunning 9.58. He produced the quickest 200m time in history at the same event with 19.19 on the clock.
In 2008, the world watched in gobsmacked amazement as Usain Bolt showboated across the line to claim gold in Beijing, beating his chest and looking across the lanes with metres to go. Bolt ran 9.63 at London 2012 to beat countryman Yohan Blake (silver) and Tyson Gay (bronze). Remember that Blake and Gay are the second and third fastest men in history. The great man stormed to a third successive 100m gold in 2016 ahead of Justin Gatlin and Andre De Grasse. South Africa’s Akani Simbine was fourth.
Bolt is inevitable
Usain St. Leo Bolt has never come second or third in a final at the Olympics, only ever crossing the line first. If you look up Big Match Temperament in the dictionary, you’ll find a picture of this enormous 1.95m man posing as a lightning bolt as millions of photographers are desperate to get the perfect shot. The only thing stopping him from holding a 9/9 record across the 100m, 200m and 4x100m finals at the Olympics was a disqualification in the relay event in Beijing 16 years ago because teammate Nesta Carter violated an anti-doping rule. Regardless, Bolt’s aura was frightening, the likes of which had never been seen before in sprinting. The nonchalance with which he crossed the line in Beijing will never be forgotten.
Letsile Tebogo carries the torch for Botswana
21-year-old Letsile Tebogo produced the run of his life to claim gold in a much-anticipated 200m event. He was the fastest qualifier and the only man to go under 20 seconds in the semi-finals, so he was certainly expected to medal. However, 100m champion and American superstar Noah Lyles was the overwhelming favourite to claim gold alongside his compatriot Kenny Bednarek. However, Tebogo ripped up the script and stormed to the line first in 19.46 seconds ahead of Bednarek in 19.62 and Lyles in 19.70. Tebogo is the first African man to win this event and it’s the first gold medal in Botswana’s history at the Olympic Games. Touchingly, Tebogo revealed the birthdate of his late mother on his running shoes in the moments after claiming what must have been a truly emotional victory.
Tebogo is the fifth-fastest man over the 200m distance in history. Usain Bolt’s mark of 19.19 still sits at the top of the pile, followed by his fellow Jamaican Yohan Blake with 19.26, Noah Lyles who ran 19.31 in Eugene last year and the legendary Michael Johnson’s 19.32 set in 1996.
Who’s the greatest Olympian in history? What was your highlight of the Paris 2024 Olympics?
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