Usain Bolt - Essay Example

Usain Bolt – lightning bolt Which human being on the planet would be the choice of a cheetah or horse in a running race? If they could choose and answer, the reply would invariably be Usain Bolt. This man has never ceased to surprise and amaze with his prowess and achievements and there is no doubt that he will continue to do so in 2010 also. No, Bolt may never win a race with the cheetah or a horse, but those animals would have the satisfaction of beating the fastest human being on legs. BBC correspondent Tom Fordyce may agree with the above comment. His view is that Bolt is providing admirers with scoreboard figures once thought to be beyond human capabilities. “Ever since he came out at the start of last year with a golden glimmer in his eye and a magical spring in his step, Bolt has redefined the boundaries of what was believed to be humanly possible. It sounds like hyperbole, but its not. Its just Hyper Bolt” (Fordyce, 2009). It is the ease at which he runs that discourages competitors. Everyone who watched his record beating 100 meters dash in the Beijing Olympics saw that he actually slowed down near the finish line seeing that there was no one to beat him. This is unprecedented in the history of short races such as a 100 or 200 meter event. He was ahead of his competitors within the first fifteen strides and spectators were sure that a record would be broken within fifteen more. They were not disappointed. Four days later he went on to beat the world record in 200 meters and was probably the only instance where he had to really try to be ahead. His record broke the conviction of Michael Johnson who was confident that it would not happen. Modesty is not one of Bolt’s virtues – not that there is any need for it. He is entitled to emotional outbursts of glee and joy that is the result of persistence, motivation, and hard work. Here is one example – “I am lightning Bolt. I am not Flash Gordon or anybody. My name is lightning Bolt” (Bolt). But one should give due credit to his attitude towards other achievers. He admires Phelps for the eight gold medals that he won in aquatics. Bolt emphatically states that a comparison is not possible since they compete in different fields. His modesty is limited to such comments regarding sportsperson who competes in other areas and not his own. Had Bolt pursued his initial interest, he would have been relatively unknown across the world. His passion was cricket, a sport which is popular in a handful of countries, unlike athletics. Ask a fan about this game in UK, Australia, West Indies or Pakistan and the response may be that Bolt is a well-known cricketer. Cricket is not a sport that is popular in the United States and the fact that he was a fast bowler does not mean much to sports lovers in the country. There is a similarity between baseball and cricket in the sense that both games involve hitting a ball with a bat and scoring runs or points if a connection is made between the two. In baseball the pitcher does not run, but throws a ball standing still. In cricket, the pitcher (or bowler) has to move forward before delivering the ball. It was Bolt’s speed while running towards the ‘throw’ that caught the attention of his cricket coach. It was he who encouraged the youngster to take up athletics. The rest as they say is history. The year is 2002 and young Bolt, aged 16 was ready to showcase his talent to the Jamaican public for the first time. He won the national championship in 200 meters with a time of 20.6 seconds. He was able to improve on this time by a whole second in Beijing seven years later and become the world record holder in the event. Is Bolt, the Mohammed Ali of athletics? One can’t help compare the off field comments of both these greats. Ali is famous for his quotes on his personal ability. Who can forget the words, “I dance like a butterfly and sting like a bee” and his “I am the greatest” quote on several occasions. In fact, his butterfly quote has been immortalized in a song sung by the great man himself. Both Bolt and Ali used the ‘power of the spoken word’ to excel in their fields. Many people do not realize this power and often refrain from what they see as self-praise. But both these athletes have used this to their advantage to reinforce their abilities in their chosen fields. There are questions asked about whether this lightning is the greatest athlete of all time. Writers and columnists have often asked this question. Let us take Ali first. Many Americans consider him to be the greatest. So what about Roger Federer and John McEnroe, and ? Motor racing fans will insist that Schumaker is the greatest. Cricket fans will continue to debate whether Brian Laura, Tendulkar, Vivian Richards or Gary Sobers are the greatest of all time. Babe Ruth will be a candidate for this slot among baseball aficionados. Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus will be the names that vie for this position among golf lovers. Now, there is Maradonna and Ronaldo, two of the magicians of soccer. The names of Magic Johnson and Gary Kasporov will come up from indignant basketball and chess fans respectively. Sergei Bubka, like Bolt had no one but himself to compete against. There is a passion for a particular sport or sports in each country. The word NBA is associated with baseball in the United States. Some of the most popular items of sports in the country are baseball, football and basketball. Go down south to countries like Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico, and the passion is now switched to soccer. In UK, Australia and India, cricket competes with other sports in terms of popularity. Chess is a popular sport in Russia. Each country and its fans of sport have their own heroes and achievers who are considered to be the greatest ever. Have your ever wondered what makes Bolt run so fast. Like other achievers, this athlete is also motivated and works hard at achieving his goals. He also had a fantastic coach in Glen Mills. These factors are common to many achievers be it in the world of sports, business, or any other field. But in the field of competitive running and that too for short distances, height and the length of stride is important. His long and muscular legs could provide him with a stride length of 2.4 meters. Imagine that it took only around forty strides for this Jamaican to cover his hundred meters in Beijing. So, who will better Usain Bolt’s record in the coming years? The answer is Usain Bolt. There is no competitor on the horizon that has a promise of even coming near. Take into consideration that this athlete promises to better his performances in future and the conclusion is beyond question. There were athletes like Jesse Ownes, Carl Lewis, and Ben Johnson (tainted) who have improved upon previous records in speed running. There may be others in the future able enough to better Bolt’s achievements. But 2010 promised to belong to this young Jamaican great. He is motivated by his coach when he said that that the under 19 second record in the 200 meters will be broken by Bolt himself. There is every possibility that this will happen in 2010. Fans are eagerly waiting for this athlete to break his own records in all the events that he competes. There is an electrical charge when he competes and an expectation that he will improve on his previous best in all the events in the future. It is no wonder that he calls himself ‘lightning bolt’. No one would argue with this metaphor, just like no one would argue with the words ‘dance like a butterfly and stings like the bee’. Like Ali, Bolt uses such metaphors to motivate himself towards unsurpassed excellence. So, is Bolt the greatest athlete of the century on and off the field? Now, this is a difficult question to answer for several reasons. The first one is that Bolt (like many other sportspersons mentioned above) has not retired from active sports. In fact he is young and in the prime of his career. There is no doubt that the best is yet to come from this bolt of lightning. Each of these persons had excelled in their respective fields and it is extremely difficult to choose the greatest. But there is no doubt that Usain Bolt will stand tall among all those who have achieved something in their life, be it sports, business, politics, or any other field of human endeavor. Like the bolt from heavens, may he be as explosive, awesome and powerful as ever. References Bolt, U, Sporting quotes of the past 10 years, Reuters, viewed 17 January 2010, Fordyce, T 2009, A new day, a new wonder, BBC, viewed 17 January 2010, Read More