Jamaica’s Usain Bolt remains on track for a historic “triple triple” after winning the Olympic 200m gold medal in Rio on Thursday. On Friday – two days before the turns 30 – Bolt goes for this third straight in the 4×100 relays with his Jamaican teammates. He plaintively raised his palms to the sky, tugged hard on his shirt, then angrily ripped the No. 6 sticker off his right hip.
Advertisement
In what is expected to be his final Olympics, Bolt didn’t disappoint. In 2008 and 2012, Bolt ran times that seemed like they were from a distant future. He set it in 2009 at the world championships, breaking the mark he’d set the year before (19.30) at the Beijing Olympics.
After the race, Bolt said he was pleased with the gold, but wished he could have had a faster time. I was on the inside and I knew Bolt would go and a lot of people would try and go with him. Came into the straight, I tried, but my body would not respond to me.
Elsewhere Friday, the USA’s 4x100m women’s relay team survived a potentially costly dropped baton blunder in their heat that left them facing disqualification.
Crossing the finish line, Bolt stated that he could have run faster if there was a close competition on the field.
Bolt was in lane 6. Bolt was the only finalist to run under 20 seconds, with 100-metre bronze medalist Andre De Grasse winning silver and France’s Christophe Lemaitre in third. “Fourth place is the worst place you can be”. Where Bolt separates himself is with his ability to maintain his speed better than most runners (his longer legs, and hence fewer strides needed, also helps). When the time came on the scoreboard, it was … not that great. In the semis, it looked like De Grasse could push him to greatness, but the Canadian isn’t quite ready to challenge Bolt in what’s always been his best event.
The Americans won three other gold medals in track and field Thursday.
But the after-party was great, as usual. He took portraits with egos supporters, kissed the track and obviously made her famous pose for photographers.
The race for “the next one” is August 19, when De Grasse will run for Canada in the men’s 4 x 100m relay. Past year in Beijing he had run 19.55sec, off nowhere near as good a winter, and two days ago had even floated the possibility of breaking his only world record of 19.19, set in Berlin in 2009. It’s the sprint he worked on from the very beginning.
So, the 100 was his hobby, the 200 was his day job, and when he started talking about goals for these Games, he said immortality was the main one.
Bolt said: “I don’t need to prove anything else. I’ve got two medals and I’m looking for the next one”. “Be among Ali and Pele”, he declared in the seconds after the win.
Advertisement
“I hope people can see that because all my friends and family have been watching. To double at a championship where the young guys are stepping up is really hard”.
