Usain Bolt gained the moniker of the ‘Fastest Man Alive’ throughout his career, with his pace smoking his competitors to dust. But not all legends become champions right away, and a recently resurfaced video on Instagram of the Jamaican sprinter’s debut might surprise fans.
“(20) years…since Usain Bolt made his Olympic debut in the 200m heats at Athens 2004. The rest is history.”
Twenty years ago, Bolt debuted in the Athens Olympics as an 18-year-old sprinter wanting to prove his worth. Of all the events he attempted then, the video captured his 200-meter heat race.
Unfortunately, owing to injuries beforehand, Bolt did not make it through the heats and had to accept his Olympic defeat. The video showcased how hard he tried to make it to the finish line but got beaten by other competitors. Eventually, Shawn Crawford from the USA won the category at the time.
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However, this incident didn’t stop Jamaica’s pride in practicing more and participating in other competitions. The next Olympic run in 2008 at Bejing saw a new and transformed Bolt, who went on to bag golds in both the 100m and 200m sprints.
He rose to the top of the podium in both categories and created world records in both, becoming the first athlete to do so. The Olympic champion’s achievements were just beginning, and he went on to establish even more stunning records.
Bolt’s name alone intimidated his competitors on the field, and he humorously took advantage of it by famously glancing at them during races before finishing first. His immediate record after his Olympic wins in 2008 came the following year, for the same event that he had once lost.
Usain Bolt broke the 200m World Record once
Redemption can take wild forms, and for Bolt, it came as an opportunity to prove just how skilled of an athlete he could be. The man who once lost out on qualifying for the 200m sprint during his debut went on to create multiple records in the same category.
During the World Championships in Belgium, Bolt ran the 200m sprint, clocking in at 19.19 seconds. This narrowly beat his own world record, which he created a year ago at the Olympics when he recorded a time of 19.30 seconds.
During this time, his strategy was to focus on short-distance sprints – which had become his strength across all his races throughout his career. He went on to dominate the track for a long time and earned the title of ‘Fastest Man Alive’ for his speedy records.
