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On August 21, 1986, legendary sprinter Usain Bolt was born to his parents Wellesley Bolt and Jennifer Bolt in Sherwood Content, Trelawny, Jamaica. During his childhood days, Usain, along with his brother, used to spend time playing cricket and football on the streets. As a kid, Bolt attended Waldensia Primary School, where he exhibited his sprinting capability when he ran in his parish's annual national primary school meeting. By the age of 12, Bolt became the fastest runner of his school in 100-metre race. Despite the accomplishment, Bolt continued to play other sports in William Knibb Memorial High School. However, his cricket coach noticed Bolt’s speed on the pitch and advised him to build his career in track and field events.
In 2001, Bolt registered a notable performance after achieving a silver medal in the 200-metre race with a time of 22.04 seconds. The same year, Bolt made his debut at the 2001 IAAF World Youth Championships in Debrecen, Hungary. In 2004, he became professional under the guidance of his coach Fitz Coleman. His journey kicked off with the CARIFTA Games in Bermuda. He emerged as the first junior sprinter to run the 200m in under t20 seconds, taking the world junior record outright with a time of 19.93s.
Usain Bolt’s record-shattering performances
On May 31 2008, Bolt set a new 100m world record at the Reebok Grand Prix, held at the Icahn Stadium in New York City. He ran 9.72s with a tail wind of 1.7 m/s (6.1 km/h; 3.8 mph). The same year, he also pulled off world records in the 100m (9.69s) and 200m (19.30s) at the Beijing Olympics.
In 2009, the lanky sprinter hit the headlines for his dominating performance in the World Championships held in Berlin. He registered the world records in both the 100m (9.58s) and 200m (19.19s). At the 2012 London Olympics, he succeeded in defending his 100m and 200m titles. He set an Olympic record in the 100m, and also won the 4x100m relay.
He completed the "triple triple" at the 2016 Rio Olympics and won gold in the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relay for the third consecutive edition of Olympic Games. In 2017, he retired after the World Championships. He is currently an eight-time Olympic gold medalist and the world record holder in the 100 metres, 200 metres, and 4 × 100 metres relay races.
