The legend of Usain Bolt

He came, he saw, he conquered!

Whatever iota of doubt one had in Usain Bolt‘s ability to retain his 100m and 200m titles from Beijing, was put to rest in emphatic fashion. Exhibiting the mark of a true champion, he did not let the off-field banter about his start being inconsistent and the rising form of Yohan Blake, get to him. One can only watch him with awe and admiration at what he has achieved and how he makes sprinting look ridiculously easy. If only he ran at full throttle in the last few yards of the 200m finals, he would have shattered the world record and posted a sub-19 secs time.

But in this act, he made a different statement though – a statement to others competing, that he could cruise and yet beat them by a mile, a statement to the fans and general public that he enjoys the big stage, the adulation from the fans and that he is there to entertain them with the art called ‘running’. Yohan Blake may have broken all junior records that Bolt has set, he may possess better work ethic and put in efforts that is 3 times more than that of Bolt’s, but at the end of the day it’s Bolt who takes centre-stage.

Every now and then, particularly in sport, a rare talent comes along and dismisses all age old paradigms of technique and training. A Tendulkar, a Federer or a Bolt seem to be born for the game they excel in. Watching them perform is like watching an opera. Indeed, Bolt is a special talent. Just as you watch a gymnast perform a balancing act on a beam with bated breath, you are drawn to him with anticipation as to what he is going to do next. The theatrics of slowing down at the end, looking at the clock even while he is running, pumping his chest make you feel that he is running for his fans and not for the records.

What next for Bolt?

He is already a legend, one of the greatest athletes of all time. The first man to retain Olympic titles in two different athletic events, world record holder in 100m, 200m and the 4×100 m relay. He is only 26. If he keeps himself motivated and fit, he can look to go out with a bang in Rio 2016. He started off as a middle-distance sprinter and has never ruled out getting back to run 400m. It remains to be seen if he is game to take that challenge, now that he has conquered every possible peak in the shorter sprints. There are rumours that would play domestic T20 cricket in Australia. His exploits as a fast bowler while growing up are well documented. It is obvious he would be paid a lot of money to play cricket. One sincerely hopes he doesn’t stop competing in the running events. He has a good 4-5 years left in him and the holy grail for him should be a sub 19 sec mark in the 200m and success in the 400m.