When you hear the term ‘The Fastest Man on the Planet’ only one name comes to mind, Usain Bolt. His records in track and field have left everyone in his wake. He has changed the face of the sport forever and achieved his dream to be remembered: “alongside the greats of Ali and Pele”. He is the king of running and a legend of sport. His life has been full of highs and lows though, read on to find out more.
The Olympics
Bolt’s most famous accomplishments lie within the Olympics. He dominated the sporting event from 2008 to 2016. Before the 2008 Olympics even began Bolt was making headlines. He ran a 100-meter race leading up to the games and broke the world record, winning in 9.69 seconds. He did this without a beneficial wind and even slowed down towards the end to celebrate with the crowd. To make his time even more remarkable, his shoelaces were even untied! His mark had been made. He went on to win three gold medals and break three-time records in doing so.
In 2012 he would again win the 100 and 200-meter races becoming the first male to win both titles in back to back Olympic games. In 2016 many feared that Bolt was reaching the end of his career and believed the Olympics would be his greatest challenge. He again went on to win the 100m, 200m and the 400m relay race. This accomplishment etched his name in history forever.
Triple Triple
Bolt’s defining achievement was to win three gold medals in three Olympics to become a triple-triple champion with a total of 9 gold medals. He joined Karl Lewis and Paavo Nurmi as the only triple-triple runners. He was later stripped of one gold medal when one of his teammates in the 2017 relay race was found guilty of doping.
Retirement Plans
Bolt retired in 2017 after winning a bronze medal in one race and pulling out of another with an injury. He noted he had won everything in the sport and had nothing left to prove. Forbes estimates that Bolt is making around $30 million per year despite retiring so he can definitely enjoy his retirement with ease. Bolt made plans to continue in the sporting world and planned to become a professional soccer player. Bolt did sign for an Australian side and played a number of matches scoring some goals, but failed to agree on a deal with the club.
