On August 12 Usain Bolt announced retirement after losing a 100m race first time after 2011 disqualification and getting injured in 4*100m relay.Hence the question arises is Usain Bolt the greatest star of all times?
When we talk about the greatest athletes ,we compare him with Carl Lewis, Michael Johnson and other people.If we look at his great carrier record we can be just carried away with this fact. He has won 8 gold in Olympics and 11 gold in world championships. This is not all he has also won 2 silver and 1 bronze in World Championships . 8 gold means he has defended his 100m,200m not once but twice. Not only this he holds the world and Olympic records for the fastest 100m 200m and 4*100m relay. The timings that he has put on is even a scientific shock. Scientists say that covering 100m in 9.58 seconds is next to impossible. This speaks of his muscle strength and accelerating abilities.
Considering the fact that he is not the best athletes who start a race these timings are amazing. Athletes like Yohan Blake, Justin Galtin take a much better start but after the first 20 m he becomes the boss and finishes the race well before others. It is believed that if he starts as good as Blake or Galtin he might even touch the 9 second mark.But certainly if Bolt gets the advantage of his height ,he faces some losses too.One can understand this fact by considering the fact that he holds the world record of 200 m as 19.19 seconds which means 9.1 seconds for covering 100m 0.5 seconds less than his own world record of 9.58 seconds. This shows the fact that he may have broken the 9 second mark or may be touched this mark.In 200m he is even better than his 100m. Even Bolt says that his main event is 200m, he runs 100m for his fans.
Another thing that I like about Bolt is that he handles pressure so well. Whenever you see him before the race he is ever smiling and confident. Other athletes should surely learn this aspect of Bolt. He is patriotism is a delight to see. Whenever he wins a race, the way he celebrates with his national in his hand. It is so wonderful to see his celebration, youngsters should certainly learn this learn this thing from Bolt. The contribution of Bolt to athletics is amazing. He has increased the standard 100m and 200m. He has also made this sport marketable. Today so many athletes endorse brands and are national heroes. In fact Bolt is one of the very few athletes who has earned $100 millon. Sometimes I feel so bad for Galtin or Blake. It is not that they are not running fast but Bolt’s performance has overshadowed their performances. It would be very difficult to maintain the quality of athletics after Bolt’s exit. I don’t thing such timings could ever be matched.
Finally Is Bolt the greatest athletes of all time. Well certainly YES .Will there be someone who would break these records. To answer this question I would like to tell what Carl Lewis said once, he said it is impossible to defend both 100m and 200m in Olympics but Bolt has done it twice. Hence you never know if there would be someone even better than Usain Bolt. We all are waiting for that day.
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