Thursday, August 09, 2012

Olympiad XXX: Bolt Wins 200m Gold, Cements Iconic Status



Usain Bolt became the first man ever to win the 100m and 200m races in two consecutive Olympics, proving his iconic status as the greatest sprinter of all. His time of 19.32 beat out his countryman Yohan Blake's 19.44, who beat another Jamaican Warren Weir's time of 19.84. Thus Jamaica swept the 200m and only an American bronze medal performance by Justin Gatlin in the 100m prevented a double sweep of the most prestigious (and lucrative) races in athletics.

Former Olympic medal silver medalist for Trinidad and Tobago Ato Boldon was quoted by the New York Times as saying that Bolt's win "end[s] the debate about who is the  greatest sprinter in history."

Bolt has now won gold medals in the 100m (9.69s) and 200m(19.30s) at the Beijing Olympics and at the London Olympics. Might he continue his reign in Brazil at the Rio Olympics in 2016? He will only be 29 years old them. He currently holds the Olympic (9.69s) and world record (9.58s) in the 100m as well as the Olympic (19.30s) and world record ((19.19s) in the 200m. The 200m is widely considered his stronger event for the 6'5" phenom.


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