Usain Bolt figured out a way to do it again. He pulled out another gold medal after winning the 200m race on Thursday evening. He made it look easy like it wasn’t even a competition but weirdly enough, he was slower than usual.
Finishing with a time of 19.78 seconds is more than a half-second shy of his own world record and this was the one he wanted to break.
The entire field was significantly behind him but the closest competitor was Andre de Grasse of Canada who finished .24 behind Bolt and right behind him was Christophe Lemaitre of France who took the bronze medal.
Here is the full race
Usain Bolt dominates for the 200m gold! pic.twitter.com/vyqeyytzZ6
— #AT (@andytelasai) August 19, 2016
Bolt was clearly frustrated after the race. Actually, just prior to him crossing the finish line he glanced at the clock and when the time came up he threw his head back and screamed while throwing his hands up as if he was saying “Why?” Following that, he ripped off the No. 6 sticker that was placed on his right hip.
The crowd clearly didn’t acknowledge that he technically had an “off” race by his standards as they continuously cheered “Usain Bolt, Usain Bolt.” As usual, Bolt paraded around the track with his Jamaican flag, with reggae music projecting from the speakers surrounding the track and arena. Shortly after he dropped to his knees to kiss the track and gave his traditional ‘Lightning Bolt’ pose that’s become so iconic.
With that being said…he still owns the world record of 19.19 seconds that he set in 2009 at the World Championships, breaking the mark he previously set in 2008 (19.30) in Beijing.
“It’s something that you work so hard for, so that when the moment comes, winning is just relief,” he told the BBC. “Obviously so much could have gone wrong. So to win today, the feeling is one of relief.”
“I wasn’t happy with the time and my body did not respond to be down the straight. But I’m getting older, so I am pleased to get the gold medal. That is the key thing. I didn’t feel any extra pressure because I don’t pay attention to the media before races. I just focus on what I need to do. I came out here and I get the job done.”
Bolt mentioned that he’s not too sure about running the 200m in the future. He said next year at the World Championships he will likely just run the 100m even though his coach keeps trying to persuade him to reconsider.
Usain Bolt at 29 years and 363 days of age (a few days short of 30), surpassed Michael Johnson, (28 years and 323 days in 1996) as the oldest to medal in this event. De Grasse’s silver medal is Canada’s first medal in this event since 1928.
Great article on the world’s fastest man!
EXCELLENT storytelling engaged me and if I hadn’t seen the race, I could have visualized it through your writing. Great job, Suave!