Gatlin recently tried to stoke the rivalry saying Bolt was given a “medical pass” to compete in Rio.
Advertisement
When users type in #BeTheFastest in their tweets, they will see the Bolt emoji, bearing the likeness of the superstar sprinter displaying his trademark “to the world” pose. But after a short stint together, Edwards called it quits on the relationship, citing the distance as the reason. Nicknamed “Lightning Bolt”, he is regarded as the fastest person ever timed and holds world records for the 100-metter and 200-meter events.
He looked favourite to beat Bolt at last year’s world championships over 100m, but was ultimately undone in both sprints by commanding performances from the Jamaican.
Bolt was hampered by a hamstring injury and had foot surgery two years ago ahead of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, and an ailing right hamstring forced him to withdraw from Monaco Diamond League leading up to the 2012 London Olympics. He ran 9.79 in clinching his third world championships title previous year in Beijing.
The subject arises because track and field enthusiasts have debated what kind of mile Bolt, the 100-meter (9.58) and 200-meter (19.19) world record holder, could accomplish.
Robert Johnson, founder of running website LetsRun.com, chimed in with his opinion to The New Yorker, suggesting there would be no way Bolt would break the five-minute mark on a mile run.
Gatlin, as he was before Bolt’s triple world championship triumph in Beijing previous year, is shaping up as the biggest threat to the Jamaican’s monopoly on the Olympic sprint titles. But if you think you could take Bolt in a mile-long race, my money would probably still be on the fastest man on earth.
“I’ve been trying to do this since I was 15 and get the programme in gymnastics started for Jamaica and it’s a really big step for us”, Williams said after training on Thursday. It would be a full accomplishment if I can get that done.
When asked on the eve of the games how he was feeling, he said: ‘Hungry’.
“When I go out there I’m just going to celebrate and have a great time”.
Advertisement
Then of course you can take Bolt for his word.
