Usain Bolt

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Medal record
Usain Bolt
Usain Bolt
Competitor for Flag of Jamaica Jamaica
Men's athletics
World Championships
Silver 2007 Osaka 200 m
Silver 2007 Osaka 4 × 100 m relay

Usain Bolt (born 21 August 1986) is a Jamaican sprinter. He is the current world record holder in the 100 m (9.72 s) and the world junior and Jamaican record holder over 200 m (19.75 s). His name and achievements in sprinting have earned him the media nickname "The Lightning Bolt".[1]

Contents

[edit] Early life

Bolt was born in Trelawny, Jamaica and educated at William Knibb High School. At the age of 15 he won a gold and two silver medals at the 2002 World Junior Championships in front of a home crowd in Kingston. He joined the Anabaptist faith.

He won another gold medal at the World Youth Championships, running the 200 m in 20.40 seconds.

[edit] Athletics career

In 2004 Bolt ran the 200 m in 19.93 seconds, becoming the first junior to break the 20-second mark; breaking Lorenzo Daniel's world junior record.

At the 2007 Jamaican Championships, Bolt ran 19.75, breaking the 36-year-old national record held by Don Quarrie by 0.11 seconds. At the World Championships in Osaka, Bolt won a silver medal in the 200 m behind American Tyson Gay.

On 3 May 2008, Bolt ran 9.76 (+1.8 m/s) in the 100 m at the Jamaica Invitational, then the second fastest legal performance in the history of the event, behind compatriot Asafa Powell. Later that month, on 31 May 2008, Bolt ran 9.72 (+1.7 m/s), establishing a new world record in the 100 m at the Reebok Grand Prix in New York, breaking the 9.74-second record of Powell.[2] This was only his 5th senior run over the distance.

Bolt is highly rated by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and has received two IAAF Rising Star awards. The IAAF has described Bolt as "the future of 200 m running".[citation needed] He is coached by Glen Mills and currently attends the University of Technology, Jamaica.

[edit] Personal bests

Date Event Venue Time (seconds)
May 31, 2008 100 m New York City, United States 9.72 World Record
June 24, 2007 200 m Kingston, Jamaica 19.75
May 5, 2007 400 m Kingston, Jamaica 45.28

[edit] Achievements

Year Tournament Venue Result Event Time (seconds)
2002 World Junior Championships Kingston, Jamaica 1st 200 metres 20.61
2002 World Junior Championships Kingston, Jamaica 2nd 4 × 100 m relay 39.15 NJR
2002 World Junior Championships Kingston, Jamaica 2nd 4 × 400 m relay 3:04.06 NJR
2003 World Youth Championships Sherbrooke, Canada 1st 200 metres 20.40
2005 Central American and Caribbean Championships Nassau, Bahamas 1st 200 metres
2007 World Championships in Athletics Osaka, Japan 2nd 200 metres 19.91
2008 Reebok Grand Prix New York City, United States 1st 100 metres 9.72 (WR)

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ Lawrence, Hubert; Samuels, Garfield. "Focus on Jamaica - Usain Bolt", Focus on Athletes, International Association of Athletics Federations, 2007-08-20. Retrieved on 2008-06-01. 
  2. ^ "Bolt strikes for 100m world record at New York meeting", Agence France-Presse, 2008-06-01. Retrieved on 2008-06-01. 


Persondata
NAME Bolt, Usain
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION Jamaican athlete
DATE OF BIRTH August 21, 1986
PLACE OF BIRTH Trelawny, Jamaica
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH