Beyond Duplication: Usain Bolt

The fastest man the world has ever seen makes it all look oh-so-easy.

When we speak about great sportspeople like Roger Federer in tennis, Lionel Messi in football or Henry Shefflin in hurling we often talk about how they seem to have much more time than everybody else.

While all around them are rushing and flustered, they seem to be in a Matrix-like zone of perpetual calm, having more time and space to perform the right bit of genius at the right time.

Somehow Usain Bolt does the same, even though he covers the ground faster than any human ever recorded. His races, intense bursts of enormous energy lasting just over nine-and-a-half second, appear to happen in slow motion for the Jamaican, as he lengthens his stride to leave his opponents in his wake. It is truly spell binding to watch.

Bursting onto the scene in 2008 when, in only his fifth run over 100 metres as a senior athlete, Bolt clocked a 9.72 in New York to take the world record and the 22-year-old has been the king of the track ever since.

Bolt proved it was no fluke with a sensational Summer Games showing in Beijing, where he annexed the gold in the 100 and 200 metres, nabbing two more world records in the process.

With a 4x100 relay title, and world record, also going to Jamaica, it was the perfect summer for the Jamaican. That he claimed he did it all on a pre-race diet of chicken nuggets only added to the legend and the charm of the affable sprint sensation.

Bolt went on to clock yet another 100m world record (9.572) and 200m world record (19.19) at the 2009 World Championships, further confirming that super fast men like Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell were tenths of seconds behind him in a sport measured in one thousandths.

Before this summer’s Games in Olympics Bolt has some hiccups. He was beaten by Gay in 2010 and he was eliminated from the 100m final of the 2011 World Championships for a false start.

The emergence of compatriot and training partner Yohan Blake, who beat him in the Jamaican trials, had some doubting if the easy-going Bolt could turn it on again in London. Those doubters were very, very wrong.

Bolt reclaimed his 100m crown in style, beating Blake and then became the first man to ever defend the 200m title too later in the Games. Add in yet another relay gold and Bolt currently stands with a perfect six for six record at the pinnacle of his sport, the Olympics.

With Bolt already confirming he fancies the hat-trick in Rio in 2016, the greatest sprinter the world has ever seen is not nearly done yet. We should appreciate him while we have him. We doubt we shall ever see his likes again.