As the king of sprinting and the biggest global star at the Rio Games, Usain Bolt of Jamaica held aloft his index finger, signaling that he was No. 1, during introductions Sunday night as a smitten crowd chanted his name.
Then Bolt proved it again, winning the 100 meters in 9.81 seconds, a coronation that secured his place as the greatest sprinter of all time. He is the only man or woman to win the Olympic 100 three times, which he accomplished at three consecutive Games.
His main rival, Justin Gatlin of the United States, the 2004 Olympic champion who later served a suspension for doping and was booed on Sunday, took the silver medal in 9.89 seconds. Andre De Grasse of Canada won the bronze in 9.91.
As the exuberant Bolt ran down Gatlin in the final 40 meters, he pounded his chest. He then blew kisses to the crowd, hugged some spectators and carried a toy Olympic mascot around the track before giving it away.
Finally, Bolt struck his signature pose, known as To Di World, cocking an elbow and aiming his fingers toward the sky, as if launching an arrow or a lightning bolt.
He is also favored to win a third straight gold medal at 200 meters in Rio and yet another as the most vital member of Jamaica’s 4×100-meter relay team.
“Somebody said I can become immortal,” Bolt said. “Two more medals to go and I can sign off. Immortal.”
Continue reading the main story
Advertisement
Continue reading the main story
Gracious in defeat, Gatlin said of Bolt, “He rises to the occasion, he is a great runner.”
Even an athlete as great as Bolt, though, can be upstaged on rare occasions. That happened Sunday when Wayde van Niekerk of South Africa set a world record in winning the 400 meters in 43.03 seconds, shattering Michael Johnson’s 17-year-old record of 43.18.
Running on the outside in lane 8, where he could not see his competitors, van Niekerk astonishingly shaved more than four-tenths of a second from his previous career best of 43.48 and more than a second from his season’s fastest race before the Olympic final.
“I was running completely blind,” van Niekerk said, stunned. “I was out of my mind. I thought I would lose.”
Fairly or unfairly, given the tainted state of track and field due to doping, that performance may bring as much skepticism as celebration.
Click here to continue reading…
SOURCE: JERÉ LONGMAN
The New York Times
Comments