Usain Bolt

"LIGHTNING BOLT" WORLD'S FASTEST MAN ! Bolt was born to parents Wellesley and Jennifer, in Trelawny Parish, on the north coast of Jamaica. A rural area, known historically for its high number of sugar plantations and a large Maroon population, its more recent claim to fame is producing world-class athletes such as V...eronica Campbell-Brown. What is so special about Trelawny? Wellesley Bolt puts it down to the distinctive yellow yams of the area that make up his son's breakfast, along with a starchy combo of dumplings and green banana. After competing for his parish of Trelawny at the annual national primary schools meeting, his coach convinced him to pursue track and field and that year he entered William Knibb High School. It was here that Bolt was identified as a naturally gifted athlete. Dwight Barnett, one of Bolt's PE teachers, described the young Bolt's talent as head-scratching. 'Sometimes I'd look at that stop-watch and think, "There's something wrong with this watch. No kid can run that quickly."' Pablo McNeil, Bolt's first coach - a former Olympic sprinter - recalled the challenge of getting him on to the running track. 'The first time I saw Usain bowling I knew he was a born sprinter, he was so fast,' he said. 'But he was so cricket-mad that he took a bit of persuading. Initially he was quite hard to work with, he needed to be kept in line... nothing malicious, just pranks that got a bit out of hand, he certainly kept you on your toes. 'I knew a long time that he was a cut above the rest. He's got an incredible stride, which just eats up the ground. I'm not in the least bit surprised at what he is achieving because I predicted five or six years ago that he was going to break world records. Anyone who saw him as a kid wouldn't have needed to be a prophet to tell you that.' Anybody who follows athletics in Jamaica watches the annual Champs - a high school athletics meet attended by 30,000 spectators, reported on in the island's news pages - the testing ground for future stars of track and field. The meet is so competitive it attracts a passionate and partisan crowd, each school has its own flag and there are often clashes between supporters. This is where many saw Bolt run for the first time. 'I first saw Usain when he was 13 years old,' said Francis. 'A skinny, tall guy. But then he went to the final and didn't do much.' Did Francis pick him out as a future charge? 'Actually, I doubted whether he would make the transition. I figured he would be trying to go abroad. I figured he would be lost like so many others before him.' More than 2,000 Jamaican athletes compete in the Champs each year, and many fall by the wayside. It was not until his third year at high school, in 2001, that Bolt won his first medal at the annual high school championships, finishing second in 22.04. Fans in Barbados, host country of the Carifta Games - the Caribbean regional junior Championships - bore witness to his exciting potential as he took silver in a PB 48.28 for 400m and placed second in the 200 (21.81). Later that year he contested the 200m at the IAAF World Youth Championships. in Debrecen, Hungary, lowering his PB to 21.73, although he was eliminated in the semi-finals. This Falmouth native blossomed in 2002. At 15, he took the 200/400 double at the High School Championships, Carifta and the CAC Junior Championships, laying the foundation for a big run at the World Junior Championships in his home country, in Kingston. Along the way, the 6 foot-5 inch Bolt, towered over the competitors lowering his 200m personal best to 20.61. In the relays, he ran solid legs as a member of national record setting teams in the 4x100 and 4x400. Bolt maintained his superb form in 2003, winning gold in the 200m at the IAAF World Youth Championships and Pan-Am Junior Championships (equalling the world junior record of 20.13). He was the star of the Jamaican High School Championships, rewriting the record books in the under-19 age group, with an easy 45.3 in the 400m, an 0.87 improvement on the previous record and 20.25 in the curved sprint, to lower the old mark by 0.57. Bolt, the World Youth and World Junior 200m champion, then stood on the threshold of holding an unprecedented three IAAF world 200m titles simultaneously as he prepared for the World Championships in Paris. But conjunctivitis cut short his training 6 weeks beforehand and led to him being withdrawn. The Bolt record rampage continued in 2004. Now a professional, he lowered the world junior 200m record of 20.13 seconds he shared with American Roy Martin, as he became the first junior athlete to break 20 seconds, with his Carifta Games winning time of 19.93 in Bermuda. In 2004 Usain ran the 200 m in 19.93 seconds, becoming the first junior to break the 20-second mark and breaking Lorenzo Daniel's world junior record. Leg ailments destroyed the Olympic medal winning promise offered by the record run and Bolt was eliminated in the first round of the 200m at the Olympic Games in Athens. At the 2007 Jamaican Championships, Bolt ran 19.75, breaking the 36 year-old national record held by Don Quarrie by 11 hundredths of a second. At the World Championships in Osaka, Bolt won a silver medal in the 200 m behind American Tyson Gay. Bolt is highly rated by the IAAF and has received two IAAF Rising Star awards. The IAAF has described Bolt as "the future of 200 m running". PERSONAL BESTS: Date Event Venue Time Aug 16, 2008 100 m Beijing (National Stadium) 9.69 Aug 20, 2008 200 m Beijing (National Stadium) 19.30 May 5, 2007 400 m Kingston, Jamaica 45.28 Height: 195cm 6ft 5insRead More