In less than 48 hours, the world’s fastest man ever and triple World Record (WR) holder, Usain Bolt will be the cynosure of all eyes as he takes on the track at the Olympic Stadium in London to begin his final quest at retaining an unblemished record at the World Championships.
Since taking the world by storm in 2008 to win the 100m, 200m and 4x100m in World Record (WR) times at the Olympics, the Jamaican has remained an enigma, and is yet to be beaten at the Olympics or World Championships.
He has had close shaves with defeat though. One of such times was in 2011 in Daegu where teammate Yohan Blake looked favoured to win the title, but a false-start by Bolt ‘saved’ him the trouble of going head-to-head with his compatriot in the 100m.
Another was in 2015 where arch-rival Justin Gatlin came to Beijing as the fastest man in the world, and looked ready to spring a surprise on the multiple Olympic Champion.
However, Bolt who is known for showing up when it matters most, went on to take the win in just one-hundredth of a second ahead of his American counterpart. It may not have been a convincing victory, but it was a win all the same, which the Jamaican gratefully took.
Bolt currently stands alone as the only Track and Field athlete with eleven World Championships GOLD medals to their name. He will aim to make it an unprecedented 13 titles when the London World Championships get underway, with the sprint superstar focusing on the 100m and 4x100m only, having opted out of the 200m.
Bolt’s concentration on two events already puts him in good stead to retain his titles from Beijing even though he isn’t coming to London with the fastest of times. But this is not a new phenomenon any way!
The six-time IAAF World Athlete of the Year has only competed twice over the 100m this year, first in Ostrava where he won with 10.06s, and then two weeks ago in Monaco where he clocked his first sub-10s of the season, snatching the victory in 9.95s.
His major challenger in recent years, Gatlin hasn’t been his usual active self this year. He finished a shocking 5th at the Eugene Diamond League and then won his race in Lausanne in 9.96s. He also competed in Székesfehérvár where he won the 100m ahead of South Africa’s Akani Simbine in 9.98s.
Ironically, both Bolt and Gatlin head to London with the same Season’s Best (SB), which is the first of such occurrences ahead of a major championship. Bolt clocked his SB of 9.95s in Monaco, while Gatlin posted the same time to retain the US title. This puts them both on 7th position on the 2017 world rankings.
Bolt’s fans will see this as a good sign, considering that the Jamaican still delivered even when his main contender enjoyed a higher ranking prior to the championships. But then, Gatlin’s calculated appearances may actually be a way of reserving his all for the 100m, since that is the only individual event he’s been listed for. And this will be his final attempt at silencing his Jamaican nemesis.
Bolt would also have to be wary of American youngster Christian Coleman who is the World Leader in the event, coming to London with a Personal Best (PB)/SB of 9.82s. The 21-year old is making his debut outing to the World Championships and has nothing to lose.
South Africa’s Simbine also looks good although he has been beaten by the two main men, Bolt and Gatlin in the course of this season. However, the sprinter is expected to up his game ahead of the championships and give the duo a good run for their money.
Former World Champion Blake is also looking forward to bouncing back into relevance, coming to London as the World No.2 with a time of 9.90s.
Considering that the world’s fastest man is making a final bow in London, he will leave no stone unturned to ensure that his World Championships legacy remains unsullied.
