2012 London Olympic Games

Bolt Olympic Timeline 2012-Will Lightning strike again?

Bolt Olympic Timeline 2012-Will Lightning strike again?

Jul 26, 2012 by Justin Britton
Bolt Olympic Timeline 2012-Will Lightning strike again?
If you say the word, "Bolt" to somebody, being that they are a track athlete or not, there's a pretty substantial chance that everyone immediately pictures Usain "Lightning" Bolt.  The worlds fastest man, headlining the world of track & field over the past 5 years, Bolt has surely made a name for himself, as well as served as a large reason for the resurgence of interest in the sport too.  We've seen countless races that have brought goosebumps to ourselves (my personal favorite-200m WR in Berlin '09, video below), a number of them being World Records (WR's) and we've also seen over recent time that the world's fastest, Jamaica's favorite boy can be beat.  With the London 2012 Olympics being the highlight of the year, we can expect all eyes being fixated on the track, specifically on the sprints where Bolt can solidify himself as being a true Track & Field legend and cementing his name as the greatest ever.  Below is a timeline, summarzing Bolt's professional career, from the days where we didn't know him as the best, to the present day where we've seen a shaky Bolt amongst us this summer.  



Here is a picture of Bolt, looking very boyish during his Penn Relays leg of USA V the World 4x400m race in April, 2004.  Lightning hasn't quite struck the world yet, but in due time Mr. Bolt will bring back the attention towards Track & Field that it deserves.   



Speed up to June 2007 in NYC, at the Reebok Grand Prix, Wallace "The Prince" Spearmon jr. runs the world's 2nd fastest time (19.82) to smoke Bolt and a field full of Jamaicans.  Note, Bolt shoes are untied, might have or might have been a factor...




100m American Record holder, Tyson Gay, pictured here with Bolt post 2008 Adidas Grand Prix where all seems to be slim and slender in the relationship between the two.  As we all know, word has reached our communities that they aren't too close of mates anymore.  Magic touched the track at Icahn stadium during this wet night, as Bolt set first of many WR's running 9.72s.  




Let's move further along in the Summer of 2008, more specifically to the stages of all stages, the Olympics in Beijing.  Bolt, now being on fire and setting the World Record already in the 100m, has a target on his back by many.  Pure domintion pictured below, where Bolt is already showboating before the finish line of the 100m final in Beijing running another WR of 9.69, also with one shoe untied, but this time it didn't affect him.  




World record #2 set during the 2008 Olympic Games, the Men's 200m..Usain runs 19.30 to seperate himself from the field as well as the rest of the world yet again! Bolt announced before the games the record in the 200m would fall and that the winner of the race would be a Jamaican, obviously far would look past Bolt doing so.  



Former world record holder in the 100m Asafa Powell, getting the stick from current world record holder, Bolt, as the Jamaican's set another WR in the 4x100 in Beijing (3 for Bolt) as they ran 37.10s.  Pictured below, Bolt, looking relieved and loving life after all is said and done during the '08 Olympic campaign.  



Somehow, Bolt always makes time to celebrate during his races, rather than only afterwards and he does so while making it look a lot easier than it should be.  Below, he is having a grand ole' time while beating up on Spearmon during a 4x100m race in Zurich in 2009.



World Championships, set for Berlin, Germany in the Summer of 2009, also on tap for the meet was a spectacle put on by the man who we refer to as Usain "Lightning" Bolt.  There was never a dull moment during the WC's in 2009, as Bolt set two WR's again in the 100m/200m and the relay team ran the 2nd fastest time ever in the world.

He ran 9.58s, 19.19s and the Jamaican relay team ran 37.31s.  Pictured below is Bolt after the clock stopped at 19.19, the Berlin WC's mascot showing his love for Bolt and Usain showing his picture perfect form during the 100m. 
Video of 9.58s 100m
Video of 19.19s 200m




Bolt and Gay dueling it out below in a race in Stockholm, 2010, where Usain is sporting the Puma singlet with a picture of himself on it.  Unfortunately for Bolt, he isn't invinceable as Gay came out on top in this 100m race.  Usain will bounce back, right? 



2011, the year of another World Championship, this time the venue is set out for Daegu, South Korea and we know what the world wants to see, the world's fastest man run even faster and faster.  

What a happy bunch of Jamaican's, setting another WR in the Men's 4x100 running 37.04s in Daegu.  To Bolt's right (our left), is fellow countryman and training partner, Yohan Blake, only 21 years old at the time, won the Men's 100m after Bolt had false started, bringing up a slew of questions asking if Bolt needs to relax pre-race. Below we see Bolt hiding his face after knowing that the gun was blown due to him moving and he wouldn't finish the race.  

Although not living up to the hype in the Men's 100m, Bolt still ran 19.40s in the 200m to make it look easy and run the fastest time ever that wasn't a WR in the process. 

Video of false start here


Let's flash foward to present time and what we are dealing with this Summer, the time of the year we've all been waiting for, London is calling and the most watched sports event is dawning upon us and we all just assume the same as usual,
Bolt+Olympics+Yams=WORLD RECORDS AGAIN?!  
Hopefully this is the case but we can't be so sure as we've seen in the news and the results that Usain might not be in tip top shape at the current moment.  He was beaten by the youngster, Yohan Blake twice in the Jamaican trials and he's a tad banged up as well.  
Below is an article showing the Bolt is a lot more vulnerable than we all think he is. 
Yohan Blake making Bolt look silly in the 100m at the Jamaican Trials, video here.


Mr. Bolt is shown here at a press conference prior to the Diamond League race in Rome, looking upset while trying to answer questions from the press when being asked of how healthy he actually is. 


"This will be the moment, and this will be the year, when I set myself apart from other athletes in the world,"-Usain Bolt.  In an article published by The Guardian-UK, Bolt is feeling confident and looking to become the 1st man to ever defend his 100/200m Olympic titles.  The road to glory this time around will be harder than ever for Bolt as he faces apparent injuries and jabs from all sides even from his training partner, Yohan Blake.  This is the Olympics, it's time to shine, anything can happen.  Will lightning strike again?  Photograph: Dylan Martinez/Reuters