Qatar sport COVERMG.indd - Qatar Olympic Committee

THE BIG INTERVIEW
But that alone was never going to be enough to
keep broadcasters and sponsors happy or to enthral
a new generation of fans to keep the flame of
track and field alive. That lack of superstars was
compounded by the issue of doping which had
tarnished many a reputation in athletics and created
a level of public scepticism over every outstanding
performance and performer.
But then came Bolt, the boy from Trelawny,
Jamaica who could turn his hand to almost any sport
but had a unique physique and talent for the track.
Bolt is 6ft 5ins tall (1.98m), the same height as he
was nine years ago as a 16-year-old, and the ability
to harness that physique and its potential to the
particular rigours and disciplines of sprinting have
been the secret to his success.
SUPERFAST
His talent has made him one of the most
recognisable sportsmen on the planet and he has
single-handedly made track and field cool among
youngsters. In many respects Bolt reinforces the
Jamaican stereotype, but in a good way. Those who
meet him say he is genuinely relaxed and passionate
about athletics and a lot else. On one occasion in
2010 for example, during a day off in Paris, Bolt
spent the afternoon playing a reggae DJ set in front
of City Hall to several thousand people.
As the fastest man who ever lived he has also
become a hot commercial property. In 2010 he signed
the biggest endorsement contract in history, worth
a reported $32.5 million with Puma, a deal which
was rationalised by the brand’s CEO and chairman
John Zeitz who reckons Bolt is bigger than David
Beckham. “He relates not just to the performance side
but to the lifestyle side as well,” he said.
In addition there are deals with Gatorade, watch
brand Hublot, sporting surfaces manufacturer
Repugol and mobile company Digicel. In the
UK, Bolt’s reputation has been done no harm by
appearing in a series of quirky, funny TV spots and
online, press and outdoor media ads for new banking
brand Virgin Media in which he appear as a spoof
Sir Richard Branson, the company’s high profile and
instantly recognisable founder.
All of which is a long way from Bolt’s origins in
Jamaica where his first medal was won in the 80
metres hurdles as a third year student in the Western
Jamaica championships. The almost freakishly tall
Bolt was a promising fast bowler but athletics held
sway even though he is said to have disliked running
the 400 metres which was one of his two main events
in his early years.
He was already considered one to watch when,
in 2002, he won the 200 metres at the western
Championships in 20.3 seconds before going on to
book himself a berth at the CARIFTA (Caribbean
Free Trade Area) Games by winning both the 200
metres and 400 metres at the trials. The Games
themselves were a momentous occasion for Bolt who
won four golds.
Later that year he provided further proof of his
undeniable potential when ran 20.61 seconds to win
the 200 metres in the World Junior Championships
in front of an ecstatic home crowd in Kingston.
Further success came at the 2004 CARIFTA
Games in Bermuda when he broke the world junior
200 metres record in 19.93 seconds but progress was,
for a while at least, slowed by a hamstring injury
which re-occurred to keep him out of the 2006
Commonwealth Games.
But by 2007 Bolt was well and truly back in the
saddle. He had already beaten Don Quarrie’s 30-yearold
the Jamaican 200m record before travelling to
the IAAF World Championships in Osaka, Japan to
take silver in both the 200 metres and 4x100 metres
relay. And then came 2008, the year in which he
started to rewrite history. Bolt gave notice of what was
to come in New York at
“Few others have achieved his
status. It’s not so much that he is
a game changer, more that he is
the man who saved his sport.”
the end of May when, in
only his fifth 100 metres
race, he ran 9.72 seconds
to take Tyson Gay’s
world record.
It was a remarkable
achievement that set the
scene for the Olympic Games in Beijing when Bolt
seared himself into the consciousness of the watching
world with a stupendous performance. He set another
new world record in 9.89 seconds but clearly eased up
in the final yards leaving fans wondering just how fast
he could go if he powered through the finish.
A year later the IAAF World Championships
held in Berlin’s Olympic Stadium became an event
absolutely defined by the brilliance of Bolt. He was
on fire as the competition approached and in the 100
metres heats he recorded the fastest time ever set
outside a final before focusing his attention on yet
another world record.
Those who were in the stadium on the night Bolt
ran his word record 9.85 seconds 100 metres describe
it as one of the most memorable in the history of
sport. Here was the fastest man alive destroying all
opposition to demonstrate just what the human body
is capable of achieving.
Some have described it as Bolt’s Bob Beamon
moment, a perfect set of circumstances which
resulted in a single, perhaps unrepeatable, moment of
brilliance. But he wasn’t finished yet. His own world
record in the 200 metres also tumbled as he took
the line beating his chest in a time of 19.19 seconds.
There was also what might be considered an almost
14 | Issue 17 | Qatar Sport