Usain 'Lightning' Bolt Strikes Again!

By - 320 words

Language

Reading Level

Listen to Article

A relatively unknown Jamaican sprinter called Usain Bolt took the world by storm at the summer Beijing Olympics, when he ran the 100 meter sprint in 9.69 seconds - not only setting a new world record but becoming the first human to run the distance under 9.7 seconds without a significant tailwind.

The best part was, he made it look really easy and started to celebrate his victory 10 meters before he even got to the finish line - leaving fans questioning how fast he could have been, had he run the entire distance at his whiz speed.

The 23-year old sprinter, appropriately named 'Lightning Bolt', put that question to rest this afternoon at the World Championships in Berlin. Running the full 100 meters, he completed the distance in 9.58 seconds, shaving off a whopping 0.11 seconds off his previous time.

Of course, Bolt being the fun-loving guy he is, did celebrate with a lot of pomp once he was done - He pranced around the stadium and even did a jig with fellow Jamaican sprinter, Asafa Powell, who took home the bronze medal.

Bolt who accomplished his latest feat at the same stadium where legendary track star Jesse Owens first made his mark in 1936, also holds the world record for the 200 meters and along with his teammates, the 4X100 meters relay record. He is also the first person to win all three events at the Olympics since Carl Lewis in 1984.

Ironically, even though Bolt was the fastest runner in school by the time he was 12, his primary sport was cricket. It was not until he entered high school, that his cricket coach noticing his speed on the pitch, encouraged him to explore track - and the rest as they say is history.

Bolt's next challenge? To run the 100 meters in 9.50 seconds! We have no doubt he will be able to do that or better!

sources:bbc.co.uk,wikipedia.org,cnninternational.org

Cite Article
Geography
Learn Keywords in this Article
48 Comments
  • jkbear
    jkbearalmost 4 years
    yeah dude!
    • Thors strikesover 5 years
      THAT IS AWSOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
      • cccalmost 7 years
        wow
        • funtime
          funtimeover 8 years
          Usain Bolt is truly lucky to be that fast!
          • hasithperera
            hasithpereraalmost 9 years
            Wow, usain bolt is very fast, He is the best person I have ever seen.I think he is like a cheetah. I describe usain bolt as a cheetah because he is a very fast runner and he is also famous. cheetah is also very fast and they are famous. Usain bolt ran 100 meters in just 9.69 seconds and that is so fast and now he is a very famous athlete. Now he is also known as the "lightning bolt".
            • Anonymousover 9 years
              I think he should be able to reach his goal of 9.5 seconds
              • diamondkid
                diamondkidover 9 years
                He's fast!
                • turtlenicole
                  turtlenicolealmost 10 years
                  I hope he reaches his goal of 9.5 seconds! He's really fast:)
                  • bibliophile
                    bibliophilealmost 10 years
                    Cool... running is awesome!!!
                    • nikukyu
                      nikukyualmost 10 years
                      It would be so awesome to be able to run that fast... Okay, I'm a fast runner, but that's NOTHIN' compared to him!
                      • happypug12
                        happypug12almost 10 years
                        You like to run, nikukyu? Me too! I'm a pretty fast runner, but I don't want to brag. ; )
                        • nikukyu
                          nikukyualmost 10 years
                          I'm the fastest girl in my class! And in the grade I think I would be in the 4th,5th,or 6th! ( in the girls. The boys are so fast! ) it's awesome that ur a fast runner! I wish we could race! I really want to meet u!
                          • peacheslarue
                            peacheslaruealmost 10 years
                            Running is so fun!!!! My dad won the state championship but his parents didnt want him to continue! Im on the track team at my school!
                            • frankiebaby
                              frankiebabyalmost 10 years
                              I won third place for a four mile run. Are you guys good at long distance?
                              • nikukyu
                                nikukyualmost 10 years
                                Not sure... But I do like short distance better tho.
                                • ravermccare23
                                  ravermccare23almost 10 years
                                  I love long distance! probably because I suck at short distance, because for whatever reason I actually run a faster mile, in two miles, than one mile