Usain Bolt’s records: best strikes from the Lightning Bolt
In the sprinting world, Usain Bolt was the undisputed dominant force in recent times.
Flip through any record book, be it for world records or best performances at premier athletics meets like the Olympic Games or the World Championships, and you will find the Jamaican sprinter dominating the sprint section singlehandedly.
Looking back, here’s a compilation of Usain Bolt’s record breaking achievements on the world stage.
Usain Bolt’s world records
Usain Bolt currently holds the world records for men’s 100m, 200m sprints and was part of the 4x100m world record-holding Jamaican quartet that included Nesta Carter, Michael Frater and Yohan Blake.
Usain Bolt’s 100m records
Usain Bolt set the current 100m world record at the 2009 IAAF World Championships, clocking an astonishing 9.58 seconds for the feat.
At the record-winning event, Usain Bolt’s average ground speed was 37.58km/h, whilst reaching a top speed of 44.72km/h in the 60-80m stretch – numbers fitting for the world’s fastest man.
Usain Bolt, however, was already in possession of the title and was only bettering his own times.
The Jamaican first held the 100m world record in 2008 at the Reebok Grand Prix in the Icahn Stadium in New York. He clocked 9.72 seconds to beat fellow Jamaican sprinter Asafa Powell’s record of 9.74 seconds set at the IAAF Grand Prix in Rieti, Italy, a year earlier.
In New York, Bolt beat US sprinter Tyson Gay, the then reigning world champion, by over a second to win the gold medal.
Just months later in August 2008, Bolt ran a 9.69 seconds at the Beijing Olympics to win gold in the 100m and better his own record. At the 2009 World Championships, Bolt was only putting his own record beyond the competition’s reach.
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