i never enjoyed watching somebody run as much as this fella.Usually cant be arsed with athletics but this bloke is unbelievable,how can a bloke that tall get into his stride so quickly awesome.
amazing, as the poster said above, could have been 9.50 but he didn't care, you have to love the arrogance of a sportsman head and shoulders above his rivals
I have watched athletics for years and tended to concentrate on the distance events for my favorite moments. Up till now that is. I was stunned watching Bolt in the semi-final when he ran 9.85 and jogged the last 40 metres. Then the final. That was simply the purest example of running I have ever seen. This guy is tall and has the leg speed of Michael Johnson. He stands out because he has none of the bulk of the other sprinters and he is several inches taller.
He starts slow, unwinds his legs in the first 5-10 metres then simply blows the competition away. If he had carried on running it would have been close to sub 9.60. If I was cynical I would say he was doing what Bubka used to do with the pole vault and breaking the world record a bit at a time, knowing the pay days you can get for breaking the world record, but having read some interviews with the guy I don't think that for a second. The thing that stuck in my mind when watching him run is this:
He runs like he is still a kid. Those with young kids will know what I mean. He just likes running fast. I have read a couple of interviews with him and that joy of running a quick as he can comes through on every answer he gives. Long may it continue.
Whoever said he didn't run faster because he didn't care is dead wrong. On the athletics grand prix circuit it's $100,000 if you break a world record, hence that russian pole vaulter who kept beating it by 1cm at a time (19 times in 2 years or something stupid). Bolt knows no one can touch him, so once he was guaranteed the gold he slowed. Watch him beat his own world record a few time over the next year or two and pocket the cash each time he does it.
Bolt knows no one can touch him, so once he was guaranteed the gold he slowed.
..........
This race is about machismo as much as sprinting, Bolt slowed not so that he'd have something left to aim at in future meetings, but simply to send a message out to his rivals - that he can win without trying. By winning a gold and taking the WR with it he's made his fortune through endorsements and appearance money etc, if he breaks the WR again $100K will be the the icing on the cake, but pennies when you consider the rest of the package.
Bubka was in a different position - he also knew he was head and shoulders ahead of his rivals and once he'd burnt them off at the Grand Prix meets etc he would raise the WR by one cm, pocket the cash and move on to the next meet and WR attempt. The 100m being a race you don't have that luxury.
Into a headwind. No wind and he does 19.25 there I reckon.
Absolutely astounding. He can take about a tenth off the 100m record as well - probably would have run 9.58 in the final if he hadn't p***ed about over the last twenty metres - maybe even faster if he could sort his start out.
Just like Michael Johnson - he looks set to completely redefine sprinting, there simply isn't anyone even close to him in terms of potential.
My only niggling doubt (and it is a doubt, however small) is that the Jamaican doping control system is dreadful. Personally, I think the all-round success of the Jamaican sprinters in these games is pretty suspicious, but it may well just be that now the yanks aren't all Balco-ed up the Jamaicans can compete with them on a more level playing field.
Whatever the situation, drugs or no drugs, the guy is an absolute phenomenon - he has the turnover of an athlete four inches shorter and the stride pattern of a bloody gazelle!
i remember Bob Beaman in that long jump no one could believe it at first. Although peeps do better now that was so far ahead of anything it was truely stunning.
I doubt he only broke it by a fraction to make more money from his future - something tells me this guy won't be struggling for cash for the remainder of his life!
I think swisdom was referring to the 100m record at the weekend. That 200m shows how good Johnson's record was. Bolt was absolutely on the limit to beat it. You compare the front on shots of him today with the 100m and you will see he gave that absolutely everything.
kigelia - so true. Michael Johnson was absolutely awesome - he never got the respect he deserved from the US media but he was arguably their greatest athlete ever. No-one was as far ahead of his time as him - the guy was an absolute freak. I really enjoy his commentary as well - he's extremely erudite, likeable, comes across as genuine and is a no-bullshit kind of commentator - much like John McEnroe on BBCs tennis coverage.
Any one else enjoy the slightly portly reporters trying to take photos of Bolt on his 100m lap of honour? He jogs faster than nearly everyone else on the planet
Anyone see the bear mascott with Bolt last night?
Did you see the mascott with the winner of the 400m hurdles, giving up a piggy back and running into the cart that picks up the hurdles.
[cite]Posted By: guinnessaddick[/cite]Anyone see the bear mascott with Bolt last night?
Did you see the mascott with the winner of the 400m hurdles, giving up a piggy back and running into the cart that picks up the hurdles.
I'd want to give that bear the bird. You've just broken a world record or won a gold medal. It's taken you years of dedicated training and sacrifice, cost you blood sweat and tears, maybe even a relationship or two but it's your time, your moment in the limelight for all the world to see and to remember into your old age. And then some effing stupid pratt in fancy dress manages to get himself into every photo...
Good point...some German is going to have a fantastic photo-album to show his grand children. This is me with the winner of the Women's Pole Vault, me with the 400m champion and here with the marathon winner and best of all with Usain Bolt just after he boke the WR.
Comments
he's only bloody 21 so he's gonna get quicker
http://www.cbc.ca/olympics/ondemand/
He starts slow, unwinds his legs in the first 5-10 metres then simply blows the competition away. If he had carried on running it would have been close to sub 9.60. If I was cynical I would say he was doing what Bubka used to do with the pole vault and breaking the world record a bit at a time, knowing the pay days you can get for breaking the world record, but having read some interviews with the guy I don't think that for a second. The thing that stuck in my mind when watching him run is this:
He runs like he is still a kid. Those with young kids will know what I mean. He just likes running fast. I have read a couple of interviews with him and that joy of running a quick as he can comes through on every answer he gives. Long may it continue.
..........
This race is about machismo as much as sprinting, Bolt slowed not so that he'd have something left to aim at in future meetings, but simply to send a message out to his rivals - that he can win without trying. By winning a gold and taking the WR with it he's made his fortune through endorsements and appearance money etc, if he breaks the WR again $100K will be the the icing on the cake, but pennies when you consider the rest of the package.
Bubka was in a different position - he also knew he was head and shoulders ahead of his rivals and once he'd burnt them off at the Grand Prix meets etc he would raise the WR by one cm, pocket the cash and move on to the next meet and WR attempt. The 100m being a race you don't have that luxury.
Absolutely astounding. He can take about a tenth off the 100m record as well - probably would have run 9.58 in the final if he hadn't p***ed about over the last twenty metres - maybe even faster if he could sort his start out.
Just like Michael Johnson - he looks set to completely redefine sprinting, there simply isn't anyone even close to him in terms of potential.
My only niggling doubt (and it is a doubt, however small) is that the Jamaican doping control system is dreadful. Personally, I think the all-round success of the Jamaican sprinters in these games is pretty suspicious, but it may well just be that now the yanks aren't all Balco-ed up the Jamaicans can compete with them on a more level playing field.
Whatever the situation, drugs or no drugs, the guy is an absolute phenomenon - he has the turnover of an athlete four inches shorter and the stride pattern of a bloody gazelle!
SUPER DEON
Did you see the mascott with the winner of the 400m hurdles, giving up a piggy back and running into the cart that picks up the hurdles.
I'd want to give that bear the bird. You've just broken a world record or won a gold medal. It's taken you years of dedicated training and sacrifice, cost you blood sweat and tears, maybe even a relationship or two but it's your time, your moment in the limelight for all the world to see and to remember into your old age. And then some effing stupid pratt in fancy dress manages to get himself into every photo...