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- published: 21 Jul 2012
- views: 58105
- author: Rajshri
A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. The award concept arose in the military, initially by simple recognition of military rank, and later by decorations for admission to military orders dating back to medieval times.[citation needed]
Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have been awarded in the arts, for example, by the Royal Danish Academy, usually as a symbol of an award to give an outstanding student some financial freedom. Others offer only the prestige of the award. Many organizations now award gold medals either annually or extraordinarily, including UNESCO and various academic societies.
While most gold medals are solid gold, notable exceptions are gold-plated and often silver-gilt, like those of the Olympic Games, the Lorentz Medal, the United States Congressional Gold Medal (displayed to the right) and the Nobel Prize medal. Nobel Prize medals consist of 18 carat green gold plated with 24 carat gold. Before 1980 they were struck in 23 carat gold.
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Before the establishment of standard military awards, e.g., the Medal of Honor, it was common practice to have a medal specially created to provide national recognition for a significant military or naval victory or accomplishment. In the United States, Congress would enact a resolution asking the President to reward those responsible. The commanding officer would receive a gold medal and his officers silver medals.[1] Other countries similarly honored their military and naval victors in a similar fashion.
Medals have historically been given as prizes in various types of competitive activities, especially athletics.
Traditionally, medals are made of the following metals:
These metals designate the first three Ages of Man in Greek mythology: the Golden Age, when men lived among the gods, the Silver Age, where youth lasted a hundred years, and the Bronze Age, the era of heroes.
The custom of awarding the sequence of gold, silver, and bronze medals for the first three highest achievers dates from at least the 19th century, with the National Association of Amateur Athletes in the United States awarding such medals as early as 1884.[2]
This standard was adopted for Olympic competition at the 1904 Summer Olympics. At the 1896 event, silver was awarded to winners and bronze to runners-up, while at 1900 other prizes were given, not medals.
At the modern Olympic Games, winners of a sporting discipline receive a gold medal in recognition of their achievement. At the Ancient Olympic Games only one winner per event was crowned with kotinos which was an olive wreath made of wild olive leaves from a sacred tree near the temple of Zeus at Olympia. Aristophanes in Plutus makes a sensible remark why victorious athletes are crowned with wreath made of wild olive instead of gold.[3] Herodotus describes a story that explains why there were only a few Greek men at the Battle of Thermopylae since "all other men were participating in the Olympic Games" and that the prize for the winner was "an olive-wreath". When Tigranes, an Armenian general learned this, he uttered to his leader a most noble saying: "Good heavens! what kind of men are these against whom you have brought us to fight? Men who do not compete for possessions, but for honour".[4] Hence medals were not awarded at the ancient Olympic Games. At the 1896 Summer Olympics, however, winners received a silver medal and the second place finisher received a bronze medal. In 1900, most winners received cups or trophies instead of medals.
The last series of Olympic medals to be made of solid gold were awarded at the 1912 Olympic games in Sweden. Olympic Gold medals are required to be made from at least 92.5% silver, and must be plated with a minimum of 6 grams of gold.[5] All Olympic medals must be at least 60mm in diameter and 3mm thick.[6]
Minting the medals is the responsibility of the Olympic host. From 1928 through 1968 the design was always the same: the obverse showed a generic design by Florentine artist Giuseppe Cassioli with text naming the host city; the reverse showed another generic design of an Olympic champion.
From the 1972 Summer Olympics through 2000, Cassioli's design (or a slight modification) remained on the obverse with a custom design by the host city on the reverse. Noting that Cassioli's design showed a Roman amphitheater for what originally were Greek games, a new obverse design was commissioned for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. For the 2008 Beijing Olympics medals had a diameter of 70mm and were 6mm thick, with the front displaying a winged figure of victory and the back showed a Beijing Olympics symbol surrounded by an inset jade circle.
Winter Olympics medals have been of more varied design. The silver and bronze medals have always borne the same designs.
The award of a gold medal, often coupled with the award of silver and bronze medals to the next place finishers, has been adopted in other competitive fields, such as music and writing. Typically bronze medals are awarded only to third place, but in some contests there is some variety, such as International barbershop music contests where bronze medals are awarded for third, fourth, and fifth place.
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Kurt Angle | |
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Angle at a WWE Q&A in August 2005. |
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Ring name(s) | Kurt Angle |
Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[1] |
Billed height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[2] |
Billed weight | 240 lb (110 kg)[2] |
Born | (1968-12-09) December 9, 1968 (age 43)[3] Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania, United States |
Resides | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States |
Billed from | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States[2] |
Trained by | Dave Schultz Dory Funk, Jr.[4] Tom Prichard[4] |
Debut | October 15, 1998 |
Kurt Steven Angle (born December 9, 1968 in Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania) is an American professional wrestler, amateur wrestler and actor. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he is a former five-time TNA World Heavyweight Champion. He is also known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment (WWF/E), and for being the only Olympic gold medalist in the history of professional wrestling.
Angle was involved in amateur wrestling during both high school and college. In college at Clarion University of Pennsylvania, he won numerous accolades, including being a two-time National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I champion. After graduating, he won a gold medal in freestyle wrestling at the 1995 World Wrestling Championships. Angle then competed in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, where he won a gold medal in heavyweight freestyle wrestling. Kurt Angle is also one of only four people to complete a Grand Slam in amateur wrestling which is the junior nationals, the NCAAs, the World Championships and the Olympics. He was named the greatest shoot wrestler and one of the top 15 college wrestlers of all time by USA Wrestling.
Initially turning down an offer to join the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), Angle signed a multi-year contract with the company in 1998. His first big push in the company was in February 2000, when he held both the European Championship and the Intercontinental Championship at the same time. A few months later he won the King of the Ring tournament. Not long after, Angle began pursuing the WWF Championship, which he went on to win later in the year, capping off a rookie year which the company has referred to as the greatest in WWE history.[5] He continued to be a part of main event matches until August 2006, when Angle was granted a release from his contract. Throughout his tenure in the company, he was a six-time world champion (four-time WWF/E Champion, World Heavyweight Champion and WCW Champion), he also held the United States Championship, Intercontinental Championship, European Championship, Hardcore Championship and WWE Tag Team Champion once each. In addition, he was the winner of the King of the Ring tournament in 2000, the tenth Triple Crown Champion, and the fifth Grand Slam Champion. In addition, he is one of three wrestlers (Edge and Big Show being the others) to have held every currently active male championship in the WWE.
After leaving WWE, Angle joined Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he became the second wrestler in TNA to win TNA's Triple Crown and the first man to hold all three TNA championships simultaneously. While in TNA, his real-life wife Karen began accompanying him to the ring and playing a part in his on-screen storylines. Angle has also made appearances for New Japan Pro Wrestling as well as Inoki Genome Federation, where he held their version of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. In addition, he is a five-time TNA World Heavyweight Champion, the second Triple Crown winner in TNA history—being the only one to hold all the required titles at once (while also holding the IWGP Title, making him a quadruple champion for a brief time).
Angle is the only wrestler in history to be a Triple Crown winner in both WWE and TNA. He is the first man to have held the WWE, WCW, TNA, IWGP, and World Heavyweight Championships in his career. Angle is also a two time King of the Mountain winner, winning at the 2007 and 2009 Slammiversary PPV event, making him the only wrestler to have been both King of the Ring (WWE) and King of the Mountain (TNA). Between WWE, TNA, and Japan, Angle has won 12 World Championships and 19 total championships. In 2010 the Wrestling Observer Newsletter named Angle the Wrestler of the Decade of the 2000s.[6]
Medal record | ||
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Men's freestyle wrestling | ||
Competitor for the United States | ||
Olympic Games | ||
Gold | 1996 Atlanta | 100 kg |
World Championships | ||
Gold | 1995 Atlanta | 100 kg |
World Cup | ||
Bronze | 1992 Moscow, Russia | 100 kg |
Silver | 1995 Chattanooga, US | 100 kg |
Angle started amateur wrestling at the age of six.[7] He attended Mt. Lebanon High School,[8] where he won varsity letters in football and wrestling and was an All-State linebacker.[8][9][10] He went undefeated on the freshman wrestling team at Mt. Lebanon High and qualified for the state wrestling tournament his sophomore year.[8] Angle also placed third in the state wrestling tournament as a junior and was the 1987 Pennsylvania State Wrestling Champion as a senior.
Upon graduating from high school, Angle attended the Clarion University of Pennsylvania, where he continued to wrestle at an amateur level.[11] He was a two-time National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I champion,[12] national runner-up in 1991, and a three-time NCAA Division I All-American. In addition, Angle was the 1987 USA Junior Freestyle champion, a two-time USA Senior Freestyle champion, and the 1988 USA International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles Junior World Freestyle champion.[13]
After graduating from college, Angle continued to wrestle. In 1995, he won a gold medal at the World Championships in Atlanta, Georgia.[12] Following this victory, Angle began preparing for the 1996 Summer Olympics under Dave Schultz at the Pennsylvanian Foxcatcher Club,[14] training between eight and ten hours a day.[15] In January 1996, not long after Angle began training at the club, Schultz was murdered by John Eleuthère du Pont, the sponsor of Schultz's team of Olympic prospectives.[16][17][18] As a result, Angle quit Eleuthère du Pont's team, searched for new sponsors, and joined the Dave Schultz Wrestling Club in Schultz's memory.[19]
Angle faced further hardships while taking part in the 1996 Olympic Trials, when he suffered a severe neck injury, fracturing two of his cervical vertebrae,[20] herniating two discs, and pulling four muscles. Nonetheless, Angle won the trials and then spent the subsequent five months resting and rehabilitating. By the Olympics, Angle was able to compete, albeit with several pain-reducing injections in his neck.[12] In the fall of 2006, Angle stated that he temporarily became addicted to the analgesic Vicodin after injuring his neck.[21] He won his gold medal in the heavyweight (90–100 kg; 198–220 lb) weight class despite his injury,[13] defeating the Iranian Abbas Jadidi by officials' decision after the competitors wrestled to an eight minute, one-one draw. The bout saw Jadidi earn a point after two minutes and 46 seconds by turning Angle, and Angle earning a point of his own with a takedown after three minutes and eleven seconds. The officials' decision was protested by Jadidi.[22]
Shortly after his victory, Angle turned down a contract with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF).[13][23] In the same year, he became a marketing representative for Protos Foods, the manufacturers of OSTRIM, an ostrich meat based foodstuff.[16][23]
In April 2011, Angle revealed that he was planning a comeback to amateur wrestling for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.[24][25][26] It was announced in April 2012 that he would be unable to make the trials for the US team due to a knee injury.[27]
On October 26, 1996, Angle was convinced by fellow Pittsburgh native Shane Douglas to attend the taping of an Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) event named High Incident.[13] He provided guest commentary during a match between Taz and Little Guido, but left the building after Raven "crucified" The Sandman by attaching him to a cross using barbed wire.[28] Angle, shocked by the controversial imagery and afraid that his career prospects would be damaged if he was associated with the incident, threatened to sue ECW owner Paul Heyman if he was shown on television in the same broadcast as the stunt.[13]
In 1997, following the incident, Angle worked for a year as a sportscaster on Pittsburgh's local Fox affiliate WPGH-TV.[29][30] He also did a commercial for Pittsburgh-based pizza chain Pizza Outlet.
In October 1998, Angle began a career in professional wrestling and signed an eight-year contract with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). He was assigned to the Power Pro Wrestling developmental territory in Memphis, Tennessee, where he began training. Angle's first appearance on WWF television was on the March 7, 1999 episode of Sunday Night Heat, where he took part in an angle with Tiger Ali Singh. This angle involved Singh paying him money to blow his nose on the American flag. Angle instead blew his nose on Singh's flag and fought him off. His first official WWF match was a dark match victory over Brian Christopher on April 11, 1999. In the following months, he wrestled in house shows and other dark matches in preparation for his televised debut.
After several weeks of vignettes, Angle made his in-ring debut on November 14, 1999 at the Survivor Series, defeating Shawn Stasiak.[31] In his initial push, he remained undefeated for several weeks, eventually losing to the debuting Tazz at the Royal Rumble.[32] Angle's television character was an "American hero" gimmick based on his gold medal win at the 1996 Summer Olympics. In his promos, Angle presented himself as a role model and stressed the need to work hard to realize one's dreams, stressing the 3 Is, "Intensity, Integrity, and Intelligence". In his promos and ring entrances, Angle would always wear replicas of his gold medals around his neck. Despite standing for many principles that are associated with "good guy" wrestlers, Angle's character was arrogant, talked down to the audience, and behaved as if he thought he was better than the fans, leading to him quickly becoming a villain. Angle won both the European Championship and the Intercontinental Championship in February 2000,[32] billing himself as the "Eurocontinental Champion". He dropped both of his titles without ever conceding a fall in a two falls Triple Threat match with Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho at WrestleMania 2000. The match had been agreed to on Angle's behalf by his mentor, Bob Backlund.
Throughout mid-2000, Angle and Edge and Christian ("Team ECK") feuded with Too Cool and Rikishi, with Angle defeating Rikishi in the finals of the King of the Ring tournament.[33] He went on to feud with Triple H after a love triangle between Angle, Triple H, and Triple H's wife Stephanie McMahon developed.[34] As a change to the intended storyline of Stephanie turning on her husband and going with Angle, he lost to Triple H at Unforgiven.[33] Following his feud with Triple H, Angle received another push and began pursuing the WWF Championship, defeating The Rock at No Mercy, after interference from Rikishi.[33] With his victory over the Rock, Angle became the first wrestler to have won both an Olympic Gold medal and the World title. Angle retained the WWF Championship for the rest of the year in matches with The Undertaker at Survivor Series and in a six way Hell in a Cell match at Armageddon.[35]
After beating Triple H at the Royal Rumble, Angle eventually lost the title to The Rock at No Way Out, after holding the WWF Championship for four months. He then feuded with Chris Benoit, whom he defeated at WrestleMania X-Seven but lost to him at Backlash in an Ultimate Submission match; Benoit defeated Angle four falls to three in sudden-death overtime. Continuing the feud, Angle again defeated Benoit in a two out of three falls match at Judgment Day. Benoit pinned Angle after an Angle Slam in a "Pinfalls Only" fall, and then Angle made Benoit submit with the ankle lock in the "Submissions Only" fall. Angle won the third fall, a Ladder match, with the help of Edge and Christian.
When World Championship Wrestling and ECW formed The Alliance and invaded the WWF in mid-2001 (dubbed as "The Invasion"), Angle became a face character and began a storyline where he joined forces with WWF Champion Steve Austin to repel them. At Invasion, Angle and Austin captained a team of five WWF superstars against five handpicked members of the Alliance. As part of the angle, Team WWF lost to Team Alliance when Austin turned on his team to join The Alliance. At the close of the match, Austin nailed Angle with a Stone Cold Stunner, causing him to get pinned by the other team.[36] After winning and losing the WCW Championship,[37][38] WCW United States Championship,[39][40] and the WWF Hardcore Championship in matches with Alliance members,[41] Angle was booked to defeat Austin in a SummerSlam rematch for his second WWF Championship at Unforgiven.[42] He dropped the title back to Austin on the October 8, 2001 episode of Raw when WWF Commissioner William Regal joined The Alliance and cost Angle the match.[43] As part of the storyline, Angle subsequently turned into a villain again and joined the Alliance himself; during a WrestleMania X-Seven rematch between Vince McMahon and Shane McMahon, he interfered seemingly to aid Vince but instead struck the members of team WWF with a steel chair.[44] Angle, however, ultimately returned to the WWF side by enabling The Rock to defeat Austin in a "Winner Takes All" match between the WWF and The Alliance at Survivor Series. He remained a villain by claiming sole responsibility for the destruction of The Alliance.[42]
After dropping the WCW United States Championship to Edge, the duo were booked into a lengthy feud. During this feud, Edge helped the fans with the already started "you suck" chants every time Angle entered a WWE ring, usually in tune with Angle's entrance music.[45] The chants followed Angle throughout the rest of his WWE career. In the course of the feud, the naturally balding Angle lost a "hair versus hair" match to Edge at Judgment Day, and his head was shaved bald.[46] Angle has retained the shaved head since. Following the loss of his hair, Angle's storyline called for him to wear a wig and insult bald people,[47] leading to a feud with Hollywood Hogan, who stripped Angle of his wig.[48] Angle later scored a submission victory over Hogan at King of the Ring.[49]
In October 2002, Angle became the fifth WWE Grand Slam Championship winner when he won the WWE Tag Team Championship with Chris Benoit at No Mercy 2002. Their team was successful but problematic, as the two bickered constantly, with Benoit often fed up with Angle's over-the-top antics.[50] After dropping the title to Edge and Rey Mysterio on an episode of SmackDown!,[51] Angle won his third WWE Championship at Armageddon, defeating The Big Show, with the help of Brock Lesnar.[52] While still in his third reign, Angle began a new storyline when he gained the services of manager Paul Heyman and "Team Angle".[53]
He then began feuding with Brock Lesnar, who had won the 2003 Royal Rumble match,[54] after Lesnar claimed to be the new top superstar on SmackDown!. Angle dropped the WWE Championship in the main event of WrestleMania XIX to Lesnar.[55]
On April 11, 2003, Angle underwent neck surgery performed by Dr. Hae-Dong Jho to repair nerve and spinal damage, calcium buildup, bone spurs, and intervertebral disc problems. Rather than have Dr. Jho remove the afflicted discs and fuse his vertebrae together, Angle opted for a less conventional surgery where Jho removed only the spurs and selected portions of the discs. The alternative surgery reduced Angle's rehabilitation time from one year to three months.[56] He returned as a face character in June. Shortly after returning, Angle defeated Lesnar and Big Show in a Triple Threat match at Vengeance to regain the WWE Championship. During this time, Lesnar seemed to become an ally to Angle. Lesnar, however, secretly worked with Vince McMahon on a plot against Angle, turning on him during a steel cage match between himself and McMahon in which Angle was the special guest referee, and stated that he never tolerated losing the belt to him at Vengeance.[57] After retaining the title in a singles bout at SummerSlam by making Brock Lesnar tap out to the ankle lock, he dropped the title to Lesnar in an Iron Man match on an episode of SmackDown!.[58][59] Angle then formed a five-man team to rival Lesnar's team at the Survivor Series, with Angle's team coming out victorious.[60]
Angle then got involved in a feud with Eddie Guerrero. Initially being a firm friend and ally to Eddie during the latter's feud with his nephew Chavo, Angle turned on him when it was announced that Guerrero, not Angle, was the number one contender for the WWE Championship, thus becoming a villain once again. At No Way Out, Guerrero defeated Lesnar to win the WWE Championship, and Angle won a match to become new number one contender. After losing to Guerrero at WrestleMania XX, Angle began to once again suffer from legitimate neck problems.[61] As a response, he was made the on-screen General Manager of SmackDown!,[62] with his absence from the ring attributed to injuries suffered after Big Show chokeslammed him off a ledge.[63] Angle continued his feud with Guerrero throughout 2004. He cost Guerrero the WWE championship against John "Bradshaw" Layfield in a Texas Bull Rope match at The Great American Bash by participating in the worked finish; Angle came down to the ring and showed a replay where JBL's shoulder hit the corner pad before Guerrero's hand.[64] Angle was later fired by Vince McMahon as General Manager in July 2004, after discovering that he was faking his handicapped status.[65]
In November 2004, Angle initiated the Kurt Angle Invitational, a worked weekly segment where "hometown heroes" (plants), challenged him to a match, with Angle promising to give his Olympic gold medal to the first person to last more than three minutes in the ring with him.[66] The Invitational was won by Eugene in July 2005 starting a new angle for both men.[67] As a result, Angle faced Eugene at SummerSlam, defeating him by making him tap out to the ankle lock.
On November 4, 2004, episode of SmackDown!, taped in St. Louis, Missouri, during an unscripted segment of Tough Enough, Angle challenged the finalists through a squat thrust competition.[68][69] Chris Nawrocki won the competition, and the prize Nawrocki won was a match against Angle.[70] Angle quickly took Nawrocki down, breaking his ribs, then made him tap out with a neck crank.[70] After Angle defeated Nawrocki, Angle challenged the other finalists.[70] Daniel Puder, an American professional mixed martial artist, accepted Angle's challenge.[70] Angle and Puder wrestled for position, with Angle taking Puder down, however, in the process, Puder locked Angle in a kimura lock.[69][70][71] With Puder on his back and Angle's arm locked in the kimura, Angle attempted a pin, one of two referees in the ring, Jim Korderas, quickly counted three to end the bout, despite the fact that Puder's shoulders weren't fully down on the mat, bridging up at two.[69][70][71] Puder later claimed he would have snapped Angle's arm, thus making Angle tap out on national television, if Korderas had not ended the match.[70] Dave Meltzer and Dave Scherer gave these following comments:
"It was real. If you don't follow fighting, Puder had Angle locked in the Kimura, or keylock as Tazz called it, although Tazz didn't let on the move was fully executed. Not only was Angle not getting out of the move, but most MMA fighters would have tapped already. Angle couldn't tap for obvious reasons. The ref counted a three even though Puder's shoulders weren't fully down, trying to end the thing, because the reality was Angle would have been in surgery had it gone a few seconds longer or had Puder not given up the hold." ― Dave Meltzer[69][71]
"As you would expect, Kurt Angle was less than happy backstage at Smackdown after almost being forced to tap out to Tough Enough contestant Daniel Puder. Downright ticked off would probably be the best way to describe his mood. The unscripted nature of the contest was the main reason that Angle was made to look so bad since Puder just reacted to the situation and could have forced Angle to submit had the referees not thought quickly and counted a pin that wasn’t there on Puder." ― Dave Scherer[69]
In January 2005, Angle took part in the Royal Rumble, but was eliminated by Shawn Michaels, who had returned to the ring to eliminate in retaliation.[72] After mocking Michaels by defeating his former tag team partner, Marty Jannetty,[73] and attacking former manager, Sherri Martel,[74] Angle defeated Michaels in an interpromotional match at WrestleMania 21, which won Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) Match of the Year Award.[72] He continued to feud with Michaels upon being drafted from SmackDown! to Raw in the 2005 WWE Draft Lottery,[75] losing to Michaels at Vengeance.[76] Angle later challenged John Cena for the WWE Championship at Unforgiven, where Angle won the match by disqualification, thus not winning the title. Angle also challenged Cena again in a Triple Threat match along with Michaels at Taboo Tuesday, in a losing effort.
Angle returned to the SmackDown! brand in January 2006, where he was pushed to gain the vacant World Heavyweight Championship in a twenty man battle royal, turning face in the process for the first time since 2004.[77][78] He retained the title against Mark Henry at the Royal Rumble. Shortly after the match, The Undertaker made his return and challenged Angle for the title. Angle retained the title in a match with Undertaker at No Way Out[79] before dropping it to Rey Mysterio in a Triple Threat match, which also included Randy Orton, at WrestleMania 22.[80]
At Judgment Day, Angle was defeated by Mark Henry via countout. On May 29, 2006, Angle was drafted to the newly created ECW brand. It was during this time that he acquired the nickname "The Wrestling Machine,"[81] wearing a mouth guard and quickly squashing opponents. Upon coming to ECW, he issued an open challenge for One Night Stand, which was accepted by Orton.[82] Angle defeated Orton at One Night Stand,[83] later losing to him in a rematch at Vengeance. Angle appeared sporadically on WWE television throughout mid 2006. On August 25, 2006, Angle was granted an early release from his WWE contract because of health reasons.[84][85] Angle stated in the Kurt Angle: Champion documentary DVD that he asked for his release from WWE because Angle couldn't take time off and he was working hurt, severely on some occasions. He also states that when he quit, WWE lost their very top talent, as he was at the very top of the payroll.[86]
A few weeks after his WWE contract expired, Angle signed a contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). The new signing was viewed by some as a promotion not having concern for the health of a wrestler.[87] On September 24, 2006, during the closing segment of No Surrender, TNA President Dixie Carter announced that TNA Wrestling had signed Angle to a contract, with Jim Cornette introducing video footage of Angle training in a six-sided TNA ring.[88] On the December 28, 2006 episode of TNA Impact!, this was announced as the "Moment of the Year" for TNA.[89]
Angle made his TNA debut on October 19, confronting Samoa Joe after Joe refused to relinquish the NWA World Heavyweight Championship belt that, according to the storyline, he had stolen from Jeff Jarrett.[90] The two men ended up fighting while Jarrett took the title back.[90] Angle was then the special enforcer for the Title vs. Career match between Jarrett and Sting at Bound for Glory, but, as part of the worked finish, he took out referee Rudy Charles and assumed the referee's role for the rest of the match-up.[91] Angle's first match in TNA took place on the November 16 airing of Impact!, where he was booked to defeat Abyss with the ankle lock and be attacked after the match by Samoa Joe.[92] At Genesis, Angle defeated Samoa Joe, ending Joe's undefeated push.[91]
At Final Resolution, Angle was booked to defeat Samoa Joe in a thirty minute Iron Man match 3–2 to earn a shot at the NWA World Heavyweight Championship at Against All Odds,[93] which he lost to Christian Cage after interference from Tomko and Scott Steiner.[94] This led to a feud between Angle and Steiner, with Angle pinning Steiner at Destination X.[95] After Angle defeated Steiner, he was picked to lead a team of four other wrestlers against a team of Christian Cage's choice in a Lethal Lockdown match at April's Lockdown. Angle chose Samoa Joe, Rhino, Sting, and Jeff Jarrett for Team Angle, while Cage chose A.J. Styles, Scott Steiner, Tomko, and Abyss. The man who gained the winning pinfall would become the number one contender to Christian Cage's NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Team Angle was victorious after Jeff Jarrett hit Abyss with a gimmicked guitar full of thumbtacks and allowed Sting to score the pin.[96] Cage was set to defend the NWA World Heavyweight Championship against Sting and Angle in a triple threat match at Sacrifice.[97] The day of the PPV, the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), the owners of the NWA World Heavyweight and the NWA World Tag Team Championships, stripped Cage of the title and Team 3D of the tag team title.[98] NWA Executive Director Robert K. Trobich stated the reason was that Cage refused to defend the NWA Title at NWA live events.[98] At the PPV event, Cage, still holding the physical NWA Championship belt, defended what was billed as the "World Heavyweight Championship" against Angle and Sting. Angle was the victor of said contest by making Sting submit, who had technically just pinned Cage, and was announced as the new "World Heavyweight Champion".[99] The Impact! following the event, Angle came to the ring with a new championship belt, and announced he was the new "TNA World Heavyweight Champion".[100] Afterward, Cage and Sting came to the ring and the three began to argue over who was the new TNA World Heavyweight Champion. Due to the controversial finish to their match at Sacrifice, the title was declared vacant by Cornette. A tournament was held for the title which culminated in a King of the Mountain match at Slammiversary on June 17, 2007.[100] At the event, Angle became the TNA World Heavyweight Champion by defeating Cage, Samoa Joe, A.J. Styles, and Chris Harris.[101] He then attacked Joe after denying a request for a handshake, reigniting their feud.
At Victory Road, newly-crowned X Division Champion Samoa Joe teamed with Kurt Angle to face TNA Tag Team Champions Team 3D, with the stipulation that if a wrestler pinned the other opponent, he won his championship.[102] As part of the planned outcome of the match, Joe pinned Brother Ray of Team 3D to win both tag team belts, which he held by himself.[102] On the following episode of Impact!, Joe (now holding the X Division and Tag Team Championships, with Angle holding the TNA and (IGF recognized) IWGP Heavyweight Championships) challenged Angle to a match at Hard Justice where it was winner take all.[103] While illustrating how he would take away everything important in Angle's life, Joe brought Angle's wife Karen into the fray, as she demanded a divorce.[104] During the match, however, Karen turned on Joe and aided her husband.[105] As part of his next push, Angle won, gaining all the championships and becoming the second Triple Crown champion in TNA and the first to hold all three titles at the same time. Including the IWGP Title, this made Angle a quadruple champion.[105] Angle, however, dropped both the X Division and Tag Team Titles to Jay Lethal and Team Pacman, respectively, at No Surrender. At Bound for Glory, Angle lost the TNA World Title to Sting, but won it back on the October 25 episode of Impact!.
Angle then joined forces with A.J. Styles and Tomko as The Angle Alliance at Turning Point against Samoa Joe, Kevin Nash, and Scott Hall. Styles had planned for Christian's Coalition and The Angle Alliance to team up together, but Christian Cage demanded to be the leader of The Angle Alliance after Cage denied Angle's request of being his "lackey". At Final Resolution, Angle successfully defended the TNA World Heavyweight Championship against Cage due to interference from Styles and again at Against All Odds with help from Tomko. At Lockdown, Angle lost the TNA World Heavyweight Championship to Samoa Joe after being pinned.
After suffering a neck injury, Angle was out of action. In the storyline, he returned to Impact! to ask his estranged wife Karen to reunite with him, but she declined his offer. Later that night, after Styles suffered a beating at the hands of Team 3D, Booker T, and Tomko, Angle added to the mugging by hitting Styles with a steel chair. At Slammiversery, Angle lost to Styles, being pinned after interference from Karen. At Victory Road, Angle and Team 3D won a six-man tag team Full Metal Mayhem match defeating the team of Christian Cage, Rhino, and Styles. At Hard Justice, Angle once again lost to Styles – this time in a Last Man Standing match. The feud continued on the next episode of Impact!, with Styles winning Angle's gold medal in a mock amateur wrestling match. The next week Angle challenged Styles to a ladder match for the Olympic Gold Medal. As they both stood on the top of the ladder, the arena went dark and Jeff Jarrett's music played. When the lights turned on, Styles had a guitar and performed an Acoustic Equalizer on Angle to win the match.
Angle began a feud with Jarrett after No Surrender when Jarrett hit Angle with his guitar, a match that involved him, Christian Cage and Samoa Joe for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. On the October 2 episode of Impact, Mick Foley announced that he would be the special enforcer for Angle's match with Jarrett at Bound for Glory IV. Angle lost to Jarrett in this match, being pinned after taking the mandible claw from Foley and a guitar shot and Stroke from Jarrett. He started attacking other superstars backstage in order to get a rematch against Jarrett. On the first HD Impact!, Angle, Booker T, Kevin Nash, and Sting started a new stable of legends called The Main Event Mafia. Scott Steiner joined the group the following week. Angle then defeated Abyss at Turning Point in a Falls Count Anywhere match. After weeks of torturing Jeff Jarrett to give him a rematch, Jarrett said that if Angle could defeat Rhino at the second Final Resolution of 2008, with Mick Foley as the Special Enforcer, he would grant it. Angle defeated Rhino to earn a rematch with Jarrett at Genesis after Al Snow made a surprise appearance and distracted Foley for Angle to cheat. At Sacrifice, Angle lost his leadership of the Mafia to Sting because of their match's stipulation. On June 21 at Slammiversary, Angle won (so he wouldn't leave TNA) the TNA World Heavyweight Championship for the third time in a King of the Mountain match with help from Samoa Joe. On the following episode of Impact!, Angle regained leadership of the Main Event Mafia after he and the rest of the Mafia, attacked Sting while introducing Joe as their newest member. At No Surrender Angle lost his championship to A.J. Styles in a five-way match which also included Matt Morgan, Sting, and Hernandez.[106]
After defeating Morgan at Bound for Glory,[107] Angle came out on the following episode of Impact! and put over the younger talent of the company. Afterward, he was assaulted by the debuting Desmond Wolfe,[108] who defeated him via knockout in a street fight the following week.[109] At Turning Point Angle defeated Wolfe in a rematch.[110] The following month at Final Resolution Angle faced Wolfe in a "Three Degrees of Pain" two out of three falls match. Wolfe managed to gain the first fall by pinning Angle following the Tower of London, but Angle forced him to tap out with the ankle lock to win the second fall. In the final fall, which could only be won by escaping the Six Sides of Steel, Angle managed to escape first and won the match.[111] On the January 4, 2010, live, three hour, Monday night edition of Impact! Angle received a shot at A.J. Styles' World Heavyweight Championship, but was defeated in the main event of the show.[112] Two weeks later at Genesis Angle received one last shot at the World Heavyweight Title, but was once again defeated by Styles, who turned heel with the help of Ric Flair and nailed him with the title belt. As a result, Angle was barred from challenging for the belt as long as Styles is the title holder.[113] Due to the circumstances surrounding the loss, Hulk Hogan gave Angle another shot at Styles and the TNA World Heavyweight Championship on the January 21 episode of Impact!, but this time he lost the match after referee Earl Hebner, who was later revealed to have been paid off by Flair, called for the bell in an incident similar to the Montreal Screwjob. Angle responded to the incident by spitting in Hogan's face, threatening to quit TNA and go back to WWE.[114] Angle apologized to Hogan, after being saved by him from Scott Hall and Syxx-Pac.[115] At Against All Odds Angle took part in the 8 Card Stud Tournament to crown a new number one contender, but was defeated in the first round by Mr. Anderson, after Anderson used Angle's dog tags to bust him open.[115] On the following episode of Impact! Angle promised to make Anderson suffer for disrespecting the U.S. soldiers, but was in the end once again laid out by him, effectively starting a feud between the two.[116] At Destination X Angle defeated Anderson in a rematch.[117] Angle and Anderson were booked in a rubber match inside a steel cage at Lockdown.[118] On the April 5 episode of Impact! Anderson defeated Angle in a ladder match to win possession of the key to the cage door.[119] At Lockdown, Angle defeated Anderson in a steel cage match and afterwards announced that he would now be taking some time off from wrestling.[120]
Angle returned on the May 20 episode of Impact! and was ranked number two by the Championship Committee in the inaugural top 10 rankings for a World Heavyweight title shot. Angle, however, decided to take his name out of the running for a title shot and vowed to fight his way through the top 10 and earn his spot at the top of the company.[121] At Slammiversary VIII Angle started his climb back to the top by defeating Kazarian, who was ranked number ten.[122] Angle continued his climb, defeating Desmond Wolfe, who was ranked number nine prior to the match, on the June 24 episode of Impact!, and D'Angelo Dinero, ranked number eight, at Victory Road.[123][124] Prior to his match with Dinero, Angle announced that should he lose on his way to the top of the rankings, he would retire from professional wrestling[125] On the July 22 episode of Impact! Angle defeated number seven ranked Hernandez and followed that up three weeks later by defeating number six ranked A.J. Styles.[126][127] On the August 19 episode of Impact! the TNA World Heavyweight Championship was vacated and instead of continuing his climb, Angle was entered into an eight man tournament for the title, defeating X Division Champion Douglas Williams in his first round match.[128] At No Surrender Angle first wrestled Jeff Hardy to a twenty minute time limit draw, after which Eric Bischoff ordered a five minute extra time. After that and a second five minute extra time also ended in draws, it was ruled that, due to a cut, Angle wouldn't be allowed to continue the match, ending the match in a no contest.[129] After wrestling a draw on the September 16 episode of Impact!, it was announced that both Angle and Hardy would advance to the finals at Bound for Glory, where they would compete with Mr. Anderson in a three–way match.[130]
At Bound for Glory Angle was defeated by Hardy, when he turned heel and pinned Anderson, after an interference from Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff, who then went on to form an alliance named Immortal, with Hardy, Abyss and Jeff Jarrett.[131] On the following episode of Impact! Angle came out to make his retirement speech, after his failed attempt to win the World Heavyweight Champion, but was interrupted by Jarrett, who announced that he had made a deal with Hogan and Bischoff in order to end Angle's career at Bound for Glory, before attacking him, when he was restrained by TNA's security officers Gunner and Murphy.[132] The following week Angle returned, trying to get his hands on Bischoff and Ric Flair, before being stopped by TNA's security officers.[133] Angle returned three weeks later on the November 11 episode of Impact!, saving Samoa Joe from Jeff Jarrett, Gunner and Murphy.[134] After not appearing again for two weeks, Angle made another return on the December 2 episode of Impact!, saving Samoa Joe from Jeff Jarrett and Abyss.[135] On the January 6, 2011, episode of Impact! Angle interrupted Jarrett's $100,000 Mixed Martial Arts Challenge and signed a contract to face him at Genesis in an MMA exhibition match, since he had promised not to wrestle again.[136] The match was thrown out in the third round after Jarrett blinded Angle. After the match Jarrett bloodied Angle, before announcing that he was ending his mixed martial arts career and promised that his wife, Karen Jarrett (formerly Karen Angle), would be joining the retirement party.[137] On the January 13 episode of Impact! Karen made her return and stopped Angle just as he was about to attack Jeff, telling him that she would not allow him to ruin their personal lives and promised to tell all about their divorce the following week.[138] The following week Karen slapped Kurt, providing a distraction which allowed Jeff to beat him down. At the end of the show Crimson saved Angle from a beating at the hands of Immortal and Fortune.[139] The following week Ric Flair reinstated Angle in order to place him and Crimson in a seven–on–two handicap match against Jarrett, James Storm, Robert Roode, Kazarian, Rob Terry, Gunner and Murphy. The match ended with Jarrett pinning Angle for the win. Afterwards, Angle was saved from another beatdown by the returning Scott Steiner.[140] The following week Fortune turned on Immortal and aligned themselves with Angle, Crimson and Steiner.[141] On February 13 at Against All Odds Jarrett defeated Angle in a singles match and as a result Angle was forced to walk Karen down the aisle, when she and Jarrett renewed their wedding vows on the March 3 episode of Impact!. After the match Angle hinted at a possible retirement by leaving his wrestling boots in the ring.[142] On March 3 Angle proceeded to destroy the wedding set with an axe and forced wedding guest, New York Jet Bart Scott to tap out with the ankle lock.[143] On April 17 at Lockdown, Jarrett defeated Angle in an "Ultra Male Rules" Two out of Three Falls steel cage match, with help from Karen.[144] On the May 12 episode of Impact!, Angle revealed Chyna as his backup in taking care of the Jarretts.[145] At Sacrifice, Angle and Chyna defeated the Jarretts in a mixed tag team match.[146] Later that same month, Angle signed a new three-year contract with TNA.[147] With Karen out of the picture, Angle defeated Jarrett on June 12 at Slammiversary IX in what was billed as the "final battle" between the two to retain his Olympic gold medal and become the number one contender for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.[148] However, on the following episode of Impact Wrestling, Jarrett challenged Angle to a Parking Lot Brawl and agreed to sign a contract that would force him to move to Mexico without Angle's children, should he lose the match. Angle ended up winning the fight after choking Jarrett with a shirt, forcing him to say "adiós".[149]
With his feud with Jarrett behind him, Angle aligned himself with Sting to feud with the rest of Immortal, including the group's newest member, TNA World Heavyweight Champion Mr. Anderson.[150] On the July 14 episode of Impact Wrestling, Angle helped Sting regain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship from Anderson.[151] On August 7 at Hardcore Justice, Angle defeated Sting, after hitting him with a chair he snatched away from Hulk Hogan, to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship for the record-breaking fifth time.[152] On the following episode of Impact Wrestling, Angle explained that he did not agree with Sting, who, using the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, wanted to hand the promotion back to Dixie Carter, as he had found out that she had lied to him about not knowing of the relationship between Karen and Jeff Jarrett. When Sting confronted Angle, he was attacked by Hogan, which led to Angle revealing that Hogan had been the one who had exposed Carter's lie to him. Angle also revealed that his goal was now to ruin Carter's youth movement in TNA by eliminating the younger wrestlers one-by-one and started by attacking Bound for Glory Series leader Crimson after the main event.[153] Angle made his first televised title defense on the September 1 episode of Impact Wrestling, defeating Sting in a rematch, following interference from special enforcer Hulk Hogan and the rest of Immortal.[154] The following week, Angle's title match with Mr. Anderson ended in a disqualification, following interference from Immortal, which led to a three-way match between Angle, Anderson and Sting on September 11 at No Surrender, where Angle managed to retain the title, following interference from Hogan.[155][156] On October 16 at Bound for Glory, Angle successfully defended the title against Bobby Roode.[157]
On the following episode of Impact Wrestling, Angle lost the TNA World Heavyweight Championship to Roode's tag team partner, James Storm.[158][159] Angle returned on the November 17 episode of Impact Wrestling, attacking James Storm and revealing himself as the man who had attacked and bloodied him also the previous week, costing him his match with Bobby Roode for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.[160] On December 11 at Final Resolution, Angle was defeated by Storm in a singles match.[161] On January 8, 2012, at Genesis, Angle defeated Storm in a rematch.[162] On the following episode of Impact Wrestling, Storm defeated Angle in a number one contender's match.[163] Angle returned on the February 16 episode of Impact Wrestling, costing Jeff Hardy his shot at the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.[164] On March 18 at Victory Road, Angle defeated Hardy in a singles match, pinning him while grabbing a hold of the ring ropes.[165] On April 15 at Lockdown, Hardy defeated Angle in a rematch, contested inside a steel cage.[166] On the following episode of Impact Wrestling, Angle defeated A.J. Styles, following interference from Styles' rivals Christopher Daniels and Kazarian.[167] The following week, Angle warned the two Immortal associates never to interfere in one of his matches again.[168] On May 13 at Sacrifice, Angle defeated Styles in a rematch, following another interference from Daniels and Kazarian. After the match, Angle made the save for Styles, chasing Daniels and Kazarian out of the ring.[169]
On February 18, 2007, Angle made his debut in New Japan Pro Wrestling, teaming with former IWGP Heavyweight Champion Yuji Nagata to defeat fellow TNA wrestler Travis Tomko and fellow WWE alumnus Giant Bernard.[4]
Angle was booked to face Brock Lesnar in a champion versus champion match for the Inoki Genome Federation on June 29, 2007, and defeated him by submission for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship,[170] and he challenged him to an MMA fight.[171] On December 19, 2007, Angle defended the IWGP World Title successfully against Kendo Kashin.[172]
On January 4, 2008, Angle made his third successful IWGP World Championship defense when he defeated Yuji Nagata at the New Japan Pro Wrestling supershow Wrestle Kingdom II in Tokyo Dome by forcing Nagata to tap out to the ankle lock.[173] On February 17, 2008, Angle lost the IWGP title to Shinsuke Nakamura in a unification match, thus ending the IWGP championship controversy.[174] Kurt Angle is not recognized as an IWGP Heavyweight Champion by New Japan. He returned in August during the G1 Climax in two special tag matches A.J. Styles as his opponent with Shinsuke Nakamura and Masahiro Chono as Angle's partners and Hiroshi Tanahashi and Shinjiro Otani as Styles' partners. Angle's team won both matches.[175]
He returned on January 4, 2009, at Wrestle Kingdom III in Tokyo Dome in a special eight man tag match, where he, Kevin Nash, Chono, and Riki Chōshū faced G.B.H. (Giant Bernard, Karl Anderson, Takashi Iizuka and Tomohiro Ishii), with Angle getting the win for his team.[176] Angle then went on to defeat Bernard in a singles match at New Japan's ISM tour on February 15.[177] After Hiroshi Tanahashi retained the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Nakamura in the main event, Angle challenged him for the title, which Tanahashi accepted.[177] Tanahashi defeated Angle on April 5 at New Japan's Resolution '09 to retain the title.[178]
In regards to his future, Angle has expressed interest on several occasions in pursuing an acting career after retirement from professional wrestling.[22] In the spring of 2008, Angle made his film debut in the short film Chains. He played a racist prison deputy, credited as The Deputy.[179]
In the fall of 2008, Angle played the role of maniacal serial killer Brad Mayfield in the movie End Game. In addition, on an episode of Pros vs. Joes season three, he was teamed up with Jimmy Smith and Kendall Gill against the Joes.
Angle made an appearance on Criss Angel Mindfreak, during the segment "Car Wreck Vanish." He also made an appearance in the 2011 film Warrior as the Russian mixed-martial arts champion, Koba. Kurt stars alongside Kevin Nash, Sam Nicotero, Bill Laing, Mary Rutledge, and Bill Hinzman in the movie River of Darkness, directed by Bruce Koehler.[180] In the movie, he portrayed the town sheriff, Will Logan.[181] On the Right After Wrestling program on Sirius Satellite Radio channel 98, Angle told hosts Arda Ocal and Jimmy Korderas that he would become a part time wrestler after his contract expires in 2011 to focus on Angle Foods and his acting career.[182]
Angle attended Clarion University of Pennsylvania, graduating with a degree in education in 1993.[185] In his later life, Angle got a Clarion University Golden Eagle, wearing a singlet, tattooed on his upper back.[citation needed]
Angle has four older brothers (one of whom, Eric, is also a wrestler) and a sister, Le'Anne, who died in 2003. His father, Dave, a crane operator,[186] was killed in a construction accident when Angle was sixteen, and Angle dedicated both his career and his autobiography It's True, It's True to him as a result. Angle claimed in an interview that, following the death of his father, he regarded his wrestling coach, David Schultz, as a paternal figure. While training Angle, Schultz was murdered in January 1996 by John Eleuthère du Pont, the sponsor of Schultz's team of Olympic prospectives.[16][17][18]
He married Karen Smedley[187] on December 19, 1998,[188] and the couple have a daughter, Kyra, who was born on December 2, 2002.[citation needed] They also have a son, Kody, who was born on October 26, 2006.[citation needed]In August 2007, Karen debuted in TNA as Angle's regular valet.[citation needed]In September 2008, it was reported that Karen had filed for divorce from Kurt.[189]
In 2008, Angle was selected to be featured on the cover for metal band Emmure's second album The Respect Issue where he is depicted on the front and back covers for the record as well as in the inlay. Angle also further promoted the album by wearing an Emmure shirt during fights broadcasted on TNA Impact!.[190]
In 2009, It was reported that TNA co-founder Jeff Jarrett was romantically linked to Karen Angle, beginning while Karen and Angle were separated.[191] This resulted in TNA president Dixie Carter, placing Jeff Jarrett on leave of absence.[192][193][194][195] The situation was revealed in July 2009 when a caller claiming to be a former TNA employee called in on The Bubba the Love Sponge Show.[196][197] Dixie Carter commented on the situation on Impact, stating "a personal situation that affected the company and it put all of us in a very difficult position." She said Jeff was placed "on leave as both a talent and in his capacity with the company and I'd like to leave it at that." In December 2009, Jarrett returned to TNA and he would marry Karen on August 21, 2010.[198]
In 2010, It was reported that Angle was engaged to actress Giovanna Yannotti.[199] On September 30, 2010, Yannotti announced that the couple was expecting their first child.[200] On January 22, 2011, Yannotti gave birth to a daughter named Giuliana Marie Angle.[201]
Angle is a fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers.[202]
On March 6, 2007, Sports Illustrated reported that Angle's name was found in the client database of a Florida wellness center suspected of being a front for distributing performance-enhancing drugs.[203] The magazine alleged Angle had received prescriptions for trenbolone (which is not approved for human use by the FDA) and nandrolone, both anabolic steroids. Angle responded on his official website: "I did not improperly receive prescriptions. It is well documented that in my career I have broken vertebrae in my neck on five occasions and each time the course of treatment was under the care and supervision of my doctors. Any attempt to link me to the athletes in the current news accounts who may have improperly sought performance-enhancing drugs is without foundation."[204]
Approximately two weeks later on March 19, 2007, Sports Illustrated posted on its website another article in its continuing series investigating a steroid and HGH ring used by a number of professional athletes in several sports. That article mentioned that 10 other professional wrestlers were implicated to have received performance-enhancing drugs from the same drug ring including four WWE wrestlers and Eddie Guerrero.[205] Kurt never failed a drug test for pain pills. He did, however, fail a steroid test under WWE's Wellness Policy because his prescription for Deca-Durabolin had expired.[206]
Angle was arrested at his home by Moon Township, Pennsylvania police on September 28, 2007, on a charge of driving under the influence after being reported by a woman who claimed that he almost hit her while leaving a local restaurant. Officials said Angle failed a field sobriety test but refused a blood test. Angle was charged with driving under the influence and careless driving,[207] but he denies the charges.[208] On September 9, 2008, Angle was cleared of all charges pertaining to his DUI arrest.[209]
On August 15, 2009, Pittsburgh-based NBC affiliate WPXI reported that Angle had been arrested. His girlfriend stated that she had filed a protection from abuse (PFA) order and that he was stalking her in the Robinson Township area. Angle was charged with "driving while operating privilege is suspended, prohibited acts-possession, harassment and prohibited acts". Hygetropin, a human growth hormone, was found in his car; Angle maintained that he had a prescription for the drug.[210] On September 15, a District Court Judge dropped the harassment, suspended license, and drug charges against Angle. On November 9, 2009, the PFA charges were dropped after he and former girlfriend Trenesha Biggers reached an agreement to avoid contact with each other.[211]
On March 25, 2011, Angle was arrested in Grand Forks, North Dakota and charged with "being in control of a motor vehicle while intoxicated" after failing a field sobriety test.[212][213][214] Angle later pled guilty to the charges and was sentenced on April 20 to one year of unsupervised probation, a chemical dependency evaluation, a $250 fine, $225 in court fees, and a ten day suspended jail sentence.[215][216]
Angle was arrested on September 4, 2011, by Virginia State Troopers for allegedly driving under the influence. Angle was placed in Warren County Jail, before posting $2,000 bail and being released in the early morning.[217][218] State police revealed that Angle's initial breath test at the scene, where he was stopped by police showed a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.091 percent, which was above the legal limit of 0.08 percent.[219] The test was later ruled not admissible and when a second test, taken at the police station, showed a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.06, the DUI charge was dropped. Angle was still charged with reckless driving.[220] On November 8, 2011, Angle entered a plea of no contest and was fined $1,500.[221]
Wager | Winner | Loser | Location | Date | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hair | Edge | Kurt Angle | Nashville, Tennessee | 02002-05-19May 19, 2002 | Hair vs. Hair match at Judgment Day[46] |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kurt Angle |
Persondata | |
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Name | Angle, Kurt |
Alternative names | Angle, Kurt Steven |
Short description | An American professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and 1996 Olympic gold medalist |
Date of birth | December 9, 1968 |
Place of birth | Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania, United States |
Date of death | |
Place of death |
This article may contain an excessive amount of intricate detail that may only interest a specific audience. Please help relocate any relevant information, and remove excessive detail that may be against Wikipedia inclusion policy. (December 2011) |
Andy Murray at the 2011 Japan Open |
|
Country | Great Britain |
---|---|
Residence | London, England |
Born | (1987-05-15) 15 May 1987 (age 25) Glasgow, Scotland[1][2] |
Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) |
Weight | 84 kg (190 lb; 13.2 st) |
Turned pro | 2004 |
Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
Career prize money | $20,376,752[3] |
Official web site | www.andymurray.com |
Singles | |
Career record | 345–114 (75%) |
Career titles | 22 |
Highest ranking | No. 2 (17 August 2009) |
Current ranking | No. 4 (28 May 2012) |
Grand Slam Singles results | |
Australian Open | F (2010, 2011) |
French Open | SF (2011) |
Wimbledon | SF (2009, 2010, 2011) |
US Open | F (2008) |
Other tournaments | |
Tour Finals | SF (2008, 2010) |
Olympic Games | 1R (2008) |
Doubles | |
Career record | 45–53 |
Career titles | 2 |
Highest ranking | No. 51 (17 October 2011) |
Current ranking | No. 70 (28 May 2012) |
Grand Slam Doubles results | |
Australian Open | 1R (2006) |
French Open | 2R (2006) |
Wimbledon | 1R (2005) |
US Open | 2R (2008) |
Other Doubles tournaments | |
Olympic Games | 2R (2008) |
Last updated on: 28 May 2012. |
Andrew "Andy" Murray (born 15 May 1987) is a Scottish professional tennis player, ranked No. 4 in the world,[3] and was ranked No. 2 from 17 to 31 August 2009.[4] Murray achieved a top-10 ranking by the Association of Tennis Professionals for the first time on 16 April 2007. He has been runner-up in three Grand Slam finals: the 2008 US Open, the 2010 Australian Open and the 2011 Australian Open, losing the first two to Roger Federer and the third to Novak Djokovic. In 2011, Murray became only the seventh player in the Open Era to reach the semi-finals of all four Grand Slam tournaments in one year.[5]
Contents |
Andy Murray was born to Will and Judy in Glasgow, Scotland.[1][2] His maternal grandfather, Roy Erskine, was a professional footballer who played reserve team matches for Hibernian and in the Scottish Football League for Stirling Albion and Cowdenbeath.[6][7][8][9] Murray's brother, Jamie, is also a professional tennis player, playing on the doubles circuit.[10] Following the separation of his parents when he was nine years old, Andy and Jamie lived with their father.[11] Murray later attended Dunblane High School.[12][13] Murray is in a five-year relationship with Kim Sears, who is regularly seen attending his matches. The relationship ended briefly in 2009 before they reconciled a short time later in 2010.[14][15][16]
At 15, Murray was asked to train with Rangers Football Club at their School of Excellence, but declined, opting to focus on his tennis career instead.[17] Murray's tennis idol is Andre Agassi.[18]
Murray was born with a bipartite patella, where the kneecap remains as two separate bones instead of fusing together in early childhood.[19] He was diagnosed at the age of 16 and had to stop playing tennis for six months. Murray is seen frequently to hold his knee due to the pain caused by the condition and has pulled out of events because of it,[20] but manages it through a number of different approaches.[21]
Murray attended Dunblane Primary School, and was present during the 1996 Dunblane school massacre.[22] Thomas Hamilton killed 17 people before turning one of his four guns on himself. Murray took cover in a classroom.[23] Murray says he was too young to understand what was happening and is reluctant to talk about it in interviews, but in his autobiography Hitting Back he says that he attended a youth group run by Hamilton, and that his mother gave Hamilton lifts in her car.[24]
Murray began playing tennis at age 5.[25] Leon Smith, Murray's tennis coach from 11 to 17,[26] said he had never seen a five-year-old like Murray, describing him as "unbelievably competitive". Murray attributes his abilities to the motivation gained from losing to his older brother Jamie. He first beat Jamie in an under-12s final in Solihull, afterwards teasing Jamie until his brother hit him hard enough to lose a nail on his left hand.[27] At the age of 12, Murray won his age group at the Orange Bowl, a prestigious event for junior players.[28] He briefly played football before reverting to tennis.[29] When Murray was 15 years old he decided to move to Barcelona, Spain. There he studied at the Schiller International School and trained on the clay courts of the Sánchez-Casal Academy. Murray described this time as "a big sacrifice".[13] While in Spain, he trained with Emilio Sánchez, formerly the world no. 1 doubles player.[13]
In July 2003, Murray started out on the Challenger and Futures circuit. In his first tournament, he reached the quarterfinals of the Manchester challenger. In his next tournament, Murray lost on clay in the first round to future world top-tenner Fernando Verdasco. In September, Murray won his first senior title by taking the Glasgow Futures event. He also reached the semifinals of the Edinburgh Futures event.[citation needed] In July 2004 Murray played a Futures event in Nottingham, where he lost to future Grand Slam finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the second round. Murray then went on to win events in Xàtiva and Rome.
In September 2004, he won the Junior US Open by beating Sergiy Stakhovsky, now a top-100 player. He was selected for the Davis Cup match against Austria later that month;[30] however, he was not selected to play. Later that year, he won BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year.[31]
Murray began 2005 ranked 407 in the world.[32] In March, he became the youngest Briton ever to play in the Davis Cup,[33] as he helped Britain win the tie with a crucial doubles win. Following the tie, Murray turned professional in April,[34] as he played his first ATP tournament. Murray was given a wild card to a clay-court tournament in Barcelona, the Open SEAT, where he lost in three sets to Jan Hernych.[35] Murray then reached the semifinals of the boys' French Open, which was his first junior tournament since the US Open.[36] In the semi finals Murray lost in straight sets to Marin Čilić,[37] after he had defeated Juan Martín del Potro in the quarter-finals.[38]
Given a wild card to Queen's,[39] Murray progressed past Santiago Ventura in straight sets for his first ATP win.[citation needed] He followed this up with another straight-sets win against Taylor Dent. In the last 16, he played former Australian Open champion Thomas Johansson, where he lost the match in three sets. After losing the opener on a tie-break, Murray won the second on a tie-break, but the onset of cramp and an ankle injury sealed the match 6–7, 7–6, 5–7 in Johansson's favour.[40][41] Following his performance at Queen's, Murray received a wild card for Wimbledon.[42] Ranked 312, he defeated George Bastl and 14th seed Radek Štěpánek in the opening two rounds in straight sets, thereby becoming the first Scot in the open era to reach the third round of the men's singles tournament at Wimbledon.[43] In the third round, Murray played 2002 Wimbledon finalist David Nalbandian[44] and lost 7–6, 6–1, 0–6, 4–6, 1–6.
Following Wimbledon, Murray played in Newport at the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, where he lost in the second round. He had a wild card for the US Open, as he was the Junior champion. In the run-up to the tournament, Murray won Challengers on the hard courts of Aptos, which sent him into the top 200, and Binghamton, New York. He also experienced his first Masters event at Cincinnati, where he beat Dent again in straight sets, before losing in three sets to world no. 4 Marat Safin. Murray played Andrei Pavel in the opening round of the US Open. Murray recovered from being down two sets to one to win his first five-set match,[45] despite being sick on court.[46] He lost in the second round to Arnaud Clément in another five set contest.[47] Murray was again selected for the Davis Cup match against Switzerland. He was picked for the opening singles rubbers, losing in straight sets to Stanislas Wawrinka.[48] Murray then made his first ATP final at the Thailand Open. In the final, he faced world no. 1 Roger Federer, losing in straight sets. On 3 October, Murray achieved a top-100 ranking for the first time.[49] In his last tournament of the year, an ATP event in Basel Murray faced British no. 1 Tim Henman in the opening round.[50] Murray defeated him in three sets, before doing the same to Tomáš Berdych. He then suffered a third-round loss to Fernando González. He completed the year ranked 64 and was named the 2005 BBC Scotland Sports Personality of the Year.[51]
2006 saw Murray compete on the full circuit for the first time and split with his coach Mark Petchey[52] and team up with Brad Gilbert.[53]
Getting his season under way at the Adelaide International, Murray won his opening match of 2006 against Paolo Lorenzi in three sets, before bowing out to Tomáš Berdych. Murray's season then moved to Auckland, where he beat Kenneth Carlsen. Murray then lost three matches in a row including a first round matche at the Australian Open. Murray stopped the run as he beat Mardy Fish in straight sets when the tour came to San Jose, California; going on to win his first ATP title, the SAP Open, defeating world no. 11 Lleyton Hewitt in the final.[54] The run to the final included his first win over a top-ten player, Andy Roddick,[55] the world no. 3, to reach his second ATP final, which he won. Murray backed this up with a quarterfinal appearance in Memphis, falling to Söderling. Murray won just three times between the end of February and the middle of June, the run included a first round defeat to Gael Monfils at the French Open, in five sets.[56] After the French Open, where Murray was injured again, he revealed that his bones hadn't fully grown, causing him to suffer from cramps and back problems.[57]
At the Nottingham Open, Murray recorded consecutive wins for the first time since Memphis, with wins over Dmitry Tursunov and Max Mirnyi, before bowing out to Andreas Seppi in the quarterfinals. He progressed to the fourth round at Wimbledon, beating Nicolás Massú, Julien Benneteau, and Roddick, before succumbing to Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis. Murray reached the semifinals of the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, defeating Ricardo Mello, Sam Querrey, and Robert Kendrick, with his first main tour whitewash (also known as a double bagel). He exited in the semifinals to Justin Gimelstob. Murray then won a Davis Cup rubber against Andy Ram, coming back from two sets down, but lost the doubles alongside Jamie Delgado, after being 2 sets to 1 up. The tie was over before Murray could play the deciding rubber. His good form continued as the tour moved to the hard courts of the USA, where he recorded a runner-up position at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic losing to Arnaud Clément in the final. Murray then reached his first Masters Series semifinal in Toronto at the Rogers Cup, beating David Ferrer, Tim Henman, Carlos Moyá, and Jarkko Nieminen along the way, before exiting to Richard Gasquet in straight sets. At the ATP Masters Series event in Cincinnati, Murray defeated Henman, before becoming only one of two players, alongside Rafael Nadal, to defeat Roger Federer in 2006. This was followed by a win over Robbie Ginepri and a loss to Andy Roddick. He also reached the fourth round of the US Open losing in four sets to Davydenko, including a whitewash in the final set.[citation needed] In the Davis Cup, Murray won both his singles rubbers, but lost the doubles, as Britain won the tie. As the tour progressed to Asia, he lost to Henman for the first time in straight sets in Bangkok. In the final two Masters events in Madrid and Paris, Murray exited both tournaments at the last-16 stage ending his season, with losses to Novak Djoković and Dominik Hrbatý.
In November Murray split with his coach Brad Gilbert[58] and added a team of experts along with Miles Maclagan, his main coach.[59] Ahead of the first event of the season Murray signed a sponsorship deal with Highland Spring worth £1m. It was reportedly the biggest shirt-sponsorship deal in tennis.[60] The season started well for Murray as he reached the final of the Qatar Open. He defeated Filippo Volandri, Christophe Rochus, Max Mirnyi and Nikolay Davydenko, before falling to Ivan Ljubičić in straight sets. Murray reached the fourth round of the Australian Open.[61] After defeating Alberto Martín for the loss of one game, then beating Fernando Verdasco and Juan Ignacio Chela in straight sets, in the round of 16 Murray lost a five-set match against world No. 2 Rafael Nadal, 7–6, 4–6, 6–4, 3–6, 1–6.[62] He then successfully defended his San Jose title, defeating Kevin Kim, Kristian Pless, Hyung-Taik Lee, Andy Roddick and Ivo Karlović to retain the tournament.[63]
Murray then made the semi-finals of his next three tournaments. Making the semis in Memphis, he defeated Frank Dancevic, Pless and Stefan Koubek before a reverse to Roddick. In Indian Wells, Murray won against Wesley Moodie, Nicolas Mahut, Nikolay Davydenko and Tommy Haas before falling to Novak Djoković. At Miami, Murray was victorious against Paul Goldstein, Robert Kendrick, Paul-Henri Mathieu and Roddick, before going down to Djokovic for the second tournament running.
Before the clay season Murray defeated Raemon Sluiter in the Davis Cup to help Britain win the tie. In his first tournament in Rome, Murray lost in the first round to Gilles Simon in three sets. In Hamburg, Murray played Volandri first up. In the first set, Murray was 5–1 when he hit a forehand from the back of the court and snapped the tendons in his wrist.[64]
Murray missed a large part of the season including the French Open and Wimbledon.[65] He returned at the Rogers Cup in Canada. In his first match he defeated Robby Ginepri in straight sets[66] before bowing out to Fabio Fognini. At the Cincinnati Masters Murray drew Marcos Baghdatis in the first round and won only three games. At the US Open Murray beat Pablo Cuevas in straight sets before edging out Jonas Björkman in a five-setter. Murray lost in the third round to Lee in four sets.
Murray played in Great Britain's winning Davis Cup tie against Croatia, beating Marin Čilić in five sets. Murray hit form, as he then reached the final at the Metz International after knocking out Janko Tipsarević, Michaël Llodra, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Guillermo Cañas. He lost to Tommy Robredo in the final, despite winning the first set 6–0. Murray had early exits in Moscow and Madrid; falling to Tipsarević after winning against Evgeny Korolev in Moscow and to Nadal after defeating Radek Štěpánek and Chela in Madrid.
Murray improved as he won his third ATP title at the St. Petersburg Open, beating Mirnyi, Lukáš Dlouhý, Dmitry Tursunov, Mikhail Youzhny and Fernando Verdasco to claim the title. In his final tournament in Paris, Murray went out in the quarter-finals. He beat Jarkko Nieminen and Fabrice Santoro before falling to Richard Gasquet. With that result he finished at No. 11 in the world, just missing out on a place at the Masters Cup.
Murray re-entered the top-ten rankings early in 2008, winning the Qatar ExxonMobil Open with wins over Olivier Rochus, Rainer Schüttler, Thomas Johansson, Nikolay Davydenko and Stanislas Wawrinka for the title. He was the ninth seed at the Australian Open but was defeated by eventual runner-up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the first round.[67]
Murray took his second title of the year at the Open 13 after beating Jesse Huta Galung, Wawrinka, Nicolas Mahut, Paul-Henri Mathieu and Marin Čilić. But Murray exited to Robin Haase in straight sets in Rotterdam. In Dubai Murray defeated Roger Federer in three sets before doing the same to Fernando Verdasco and falling short against Davydenko. At Indian Wells Murray defeated Jürgen Melzer and Ivo Karlović in three sets and crashed out to Tommy Haas, before a first-match exit to Mario Ančić in Miami.
On the clay courts in Monte Carlo Murray defeated Feliciano López and Filippo Volandri before winning just four games against Novak Djoković. Ančić then handed Murray another first-match defeat in Barcelona. In Rome Murray first played Juan Martín del Potro in an ill-tempered three-set match. Murray won his first match in Rome[68] when Del Potro retired with an injury. Murray was warned for bad language and there was disagreement between the two players where Murray claimed that Del Potro insulted his mother, who was in the crowd, and deliberately aimed a ball at his head.[69][70] In the next round Murray lost in straight sets to Wawrinka. In his last tournament before the French Open Murray participated in Hamburg. He defeated Dmitry Tursunov and Gilles Simon before a defeat against Rafael Nadal. At Roland Garros he overcame local boy Jonathan Eysseric in five sets and clay-courter José Acasuso, where he lost just four games. He ended the tournament after a defeat by Nicolás Almagro in four sets in the third round.
At Queen's Murray played just two games of his opening match before Sébastien Grosjean withdrew. Against Ernests Gulbis Murray slipped on the damp grass and caused a sprain to his thumb.[71] He won the match in 3 but withdrew ahead of his quarter-final against Andy Roddick.[72] Any thought that he would pull out of Wimbledon was unfounded as he made the start line to reach the quarter-finals for the first time. Murray defeated Fabrice Santoro, Xavier Malisse in three sets and Tommy Haas in 4, before the one of the matches of the tournament. Murray found himself two sets down to Richard Gasquet who was serving for the match. Murray broke and took the set to a tie-break, before the shot of the tournament on set point. Murray hit a backhand winner from way off the court, when he was almost in the stands.[73] Murray progressed through the fourth set before an early break in the 5th. Gasquet failed to break back in the next game and made a complaint about the light. But Murray completed a 5–7, 3–6, 7–6, 6–2, 6–4 win.[74] In the next round Murray was defeated by world No. 2 Nadal in straight sets.
In his first tournament after Wimbledon, the Rogers Cup, Murray defeated Johansson, Wawrinka and Djokovic before losing to Nadal in the semi-finals. The Nadal loss was Murray's last defeat in ATP events for three months. In Cincinnati Murray went one better than in Canada as he reached his first ATP Masters Series final. He beat Sam Querrey, Tursunov, Carlos Moyá and Karlovic to make the final. Murray showed no signs of nerves as on debut he won his first Masters Shield, defeating Djokovic in two tie-breakers. At the Olympics, which is ITF organised, Murray was dumped out in round one by Yen-Hsun Lu,[75] citing a lack of professionalism on his part.[76]
Murray then went to New York to participate in the US Open. He became the first Briton since Greg Rusedski in 1997 to reach a Grand Slam final. Murray defeated Sergio Roitman, Michaël Llodra and won against Melzer after being two sets down.[77] He then beat Wawrinka to set up a match with Del Potro;[78] he overcame Nadal in the semi-finals after a four-set battle, beating him for the first time, in a rain-affected match that lasted for two days.[79] In the final he lost in straight sets to Roger Federer.[80][81]
Murray beat Alexander Peya and Jürgen Melzer in the Davis Cup tie against Austria, but it was in vain as Great Britain lost the deciding rubber. He returned to ATP tournaments in Madrid, where he won his second consecutive Masters shield. He defeated Simone Bolelli, Čilić (for the first time in 2008) and Gaël Monfils before avenging his US Open final loss against Federer in three sets, and taking the title against Simon. Murray then made it three ATP tournament wins on the bounce with his 5th title of the year at the St Petersburg Open, where Murray beat Viktor Troicki, Gulbis, Janko Tipsarević, without dropping a set, before thrashing Verdasco for the loss of just three games in the semi-final and Andrey Golubev for the loss of two games in the final. He thus became the first British player to win two Master tournaments and the first Briton to win five tournaments in a year.[82] Heading into the final Masters event of the season, Murray was on course for a record third consecutive Masters shield.[83] Murray defeated Sam Querrey and Verdasco, before David Nalbandian ended Murray's run, of 14 straight wins, when he beat him in straight sets. This was Murray's first defeat on the ATP tour in three months, since Nadal beat him in Canada.[84]
Now at No. 4 in the world, Murray qualified for the first time for the Masters Cup. He beat Roddick in three sets, before the American withdrew from the competition. This was followed by a win over Simon to qualify for the semi-finals.[85] In his final group match against Federer, Murray defeated him in three sets.[86][87] In the semi-final Murray faced Davydenko, but after leaving it all on the court against Federer, Murray succumbed to the Russian in straight sets.[88]
Murray ended 2008 ranked fourth in the world.
Murray began 2009 by beating Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal to win the exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi. He followed this with a successful defence of his title at the Qatar Open in Doha, defeating Andy Roddick in straight sets to win the final.[89] At the Australian Open, Murray made it to the fourth round, losing to Fernando Verdasco in the fourth round.[90] After the loss to Verdasco, Murray was delayed from going home, as he was found to be suffering from a virus.
Murray got back to winnning ways quickly though as he won his eleventh career title in Rotterdam. In the final, Murray faced the world no. 1, Nadal, defeating him in the third set.[91] However, an injury, sustained in the semifinal forced his withdrawal from the Marseille Open, which he had won in 2008.[92] Returning from injury, Murray went to Dubai and withdrew before the quarterfinals with a re-occurrence of the virus that had affected him at the Australian Open.[93] The virus caused Murray to miss a Davis Cup tie in Glasgow. Returning from the virus, Murray made it to the final at Indian Wells. Murray defeated Federer in the semifinal but lost the final against Nadal, winning just three games in windy conditions.[94] However a week later and Murray made another final in Miami and defeated Novak Djokovic for another masters title.
Murray got his clay season underway at the Monte Carlo Masters. With a series of impressive performances, Murray made it to the semifinals losing in straight sets to Nadal. Murray then moved to the Rome Masters, where he lost in the second round, after a first-round bye, to Juan Mónaco in three sets. Despite an early exit of the Rome Masters Murray achieved the highest ever ranking of a British male in the open era when he became world no. 3 on 11 May 2009.[95] Murray celebrated this achievement by trying to defend his Madrid Masters title, which had switched surfaces from hard to clay. He reached the quarterfinals, after beating Simone Bolelli and Robredo in straight sets, before losing to Del Potro. Murray reached the quarterfinals of the 2009 French Open, but was defeated by Fernando González in four sets.
Murray won at Queen's, without dropping a set, becoming the first British winner of the tournament since 1938. In the final Murray defeated American James Blake. This was Murray's first tournament win on grass and his first ATP title in Britain.[96] Murray was initially seeded third at Wimbledon, but after the withdrawal of defending champion Nadal, Murray became the second-highest seeded player, after Federer and highest-ever seeded Briton in a senior event at Wimbledon.[97] Rain meant that Murray's fourth-round match against Stanislas Wawrinka was the first match to be played entirely under Wimbledon's retractable roof, also enabling it to be the latest finishing match ever at Wimbledon. Murray's win stretched to five sets and 3 hours 56 minutes, resulting in a 22:38 finish that was approximately an hour after play is usually concluded.[98] However Murray lost a tight semifinal to Andy Roddick, achieving his best result in the tournament to date.
Murray returned to action in Montreal, defeating del Potro in three sets to take the title.[99] After this victory, he overtook Nadal in the rankings and held the number two position until the start of the US Open.[100] Murray followed the Masters win playing at the Cincinnati Masters, where Federer beat him for the first time since the US Open in straight sets. At the US Open, Murray was hampered by a wrist injury and suffered a straight-sets loss to Čilić.[101] Murray competed in the Davis Cup tie in Liverpool against Poland. Murray won both his singles matches, but lost the doubles as Britain lost the tie and was relegated to the next group. During the weekend, Murray damaged his wrist further and was forced to miss six weeks of the tour, and with it dropped to no. 4 in the world.[102]
Murray returned to the tour in Valencia, where he won his sixth and final tournament of the year.[103] In the final Masters event of 2009, in Paris, Murray beat James Blake in three sets, before losing to Štěpánek in three. At the World Tour Finals in London, Murray started by beating del Potro in three sets, before losing a three-set match to Federer. He won his next match against Verdasco, but because Murray, Federer, and del Potro all ended up on equal wins and sets, it came down to game percentage, and Murray lost out by a game,[104] bringing an end to his 2009 season.
Murray and Laura Robson represented Britain at the Hopman Cup. The pair progressed to the final, where they were beaten by Spain.[105] At the Australian Open Murray progressed through his opening few matches in straight sets to set up a quarterfinal clash with the world no. 2 Rafael Nadal. Murray led by two sets and a break before the Spaniard had to retire with a torn quadriceps. Murray became the first British man to reach more than one Grand Slam final in 72 years when he defeated Marin Cilic.[106] Murray lost the final to world no. 1 Roger Federer in straight sets.[107]
At the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Murray reached the quarterfinals. He was defeated by Robin Söderling in straight sets. Murray next played at the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open, but lost his first match of the tournament, afterwards he said that his mind hadn't been fully on tennis.[108][109]
Switching attention to clay, Murray requested a wild card for Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters. He suffered another first match loss, this time to Philipp Kohlschreiber. He also entered the doubles competition with Ross Hutchins and defeated world no. 10 doubles team Cermak and Meritmak, before losing to the Bryan Brothers on a champions tie-breaker. Murray then went on to reach the third round in the Rome Masters 1000, where he lost to David Ferrer in straight sets. At the Madrid Masters, he reached the quarterfinals, where he subsequently lost to Ferrer again in a closely fought battle. Murray completed his preparations for the second Grand Slam of the year by defeating Fish in an exhibition match 11–9 in a champions tie-breaker.[110] At the French Open, Murray was drawn in the first round against Richard Gasquet. Murray battled back from two sets down to win in the final set.[111] In the third round, Murray lost a set 0–6 against Marcos Baghdatis, something he had not done since the French Open quarterfinals the previous year.[112] Murray lost in straight sets to Tomáš Berdych in the fourth round and credited his opponent for outplaying him.[113][114]
Murray's next appearance was at the grass courts of London. Attempting to become the first Briton since Gordon Lowe in 1914 to defend the title successfully,[115] Murray progressed to the third round, where he faced Mardy Fish. At 3–3 in the final set with momentum going Murray's way (Murray had just come back from 3–0 down), the match was called off for bad light, leaving Murray fuming at the umpire and tournament referee. Murray was quoted as saying he (Fish) only came off because it was 3–3.[116] Coming back the next day, Murray was edged out by the eventual finalist in a tie-breaker for his second defeat to him in the year.[117] In Murray's second-round match at Wimbledon, he defeated Jarkko Nieminen,[118] a match which was viewed by Queen Elizabeth II during her first visit to the Championships since 1977.[119] Murray lost to Rafael Nadal in the semifinals in straight sets.[120]
On 27 July 2010, Andy Murray and his coach Maclagan split, and Murray replaced him with Àlex Corretja just before he competed in the Farmers Classic as a wild-card replacement for Novak Djoković.[121] Murray stated that their views on his game differed wildly and that he didn't want to over-complicate things.[122] He thanked Maclagan for his 'positive contribution' and said that they have a great relationship. Jonathan Overend, the BBC's tennis journalist, reported that the split happened over Maclagan's annoyance at what he saw as Corretja's increasing involvement in Murray's coaching. But Murray had no intention of sacking him,[123] despite the press report that Murray was ready to replace him with Andre Agassi's former coach Darren Cahill.[124]
Starting the US hard-court season with the 2010 Farmers Classic, Murray reached the final. During Murray's semifinal win against Feliciano López,[125] whilst commentating for ESPN, Cahill appeared to rule himself out of becoming Murray's next coach.[126] In Murray's first final since the Australian Open, he lost against Sam Querrey in three sets This was his first loss to Querrey in five career meetings and the first time he had lost a set against the American.[127] In Canada, Murray successfully defended a Masters title for the first time. He became the first player since Andre Agassi in 1995 to defend the Canadian Masters. Murray also became the fifth player to defeat Rafael Nadal (the fifth occasion that Murray has beaten the player ranked world no. 1) and Roger Federer (Murray had achieved this previously at the unofficial 2009 Capitala World Tennis Championship exhibition) in the same tournament. Murray defeated Nadal and Federer in straight sets. This ended his title drought dating back to November 2009.[128][129] At the Cincinnati Masters, Murray complained about the speed of the court after his first match.[130] Before his quarterfinal match with Fish, Murray complained that the organisers refused to put the match on later in the day. Murray had played his two previous matches at midday, and all his matches in Toronto between 12 and 3 pm.[131]
I don't ever request really when to play. I don't make many demands at all during the tournaments." "I'm not sure, the way the tennis works, I don't think matches should be scheduled around the doubles because it's the singles that's on the TV."
The reason given for turning down Murray's request was that Fish was playing doubles. Murray had no option but to play at midday again, with temperatures reaching 33°C in the shade. Murray won the first set on a tie-breaker, but after going inside for a toilet break, he began to feel ill. The doctor was called on court to actively cool Murray down. Murray admitted after the match that he had considered retiring. He lost the second set, but forced a final-set tie-breaker, before Fish won.[132] At the US Open, Murray played Stanislas Wawrinka in the third round. Murray bowed out of the tournament, losing in four sets.[133] However, questions about Murray's conditioning arose, as he called the trainer out twice during the match.[134]
His next event was the China Open in Beijing, where Murray reached the quarterfinals, losing to Ivan Ljubičić.[135] At the Shanghai Rolex Masters, Murray reached his seventh Masters Series final.[136] There, he faced Roger Federer and dismissed the Swiss player in straight sets.[137] He did not drop a single set throughout the event, taking only his second title of the year and his sixth ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title. Murray returned to Spain to defend his title at the Valencia Open 500 but lost in the second round to Juan Mónaco.[138] However in doubles, Murray partnered his brother Jamie Murray to the final, where they defeated Mahesh Bhupathi and Max Mirnyi. The victory was Murray's first doubles title and the second time he had reached a final with his brother.[139][140] Murray reached the quarter finals at the BNP Paribas Masters losing to Gaël Monfils in three sets.[141] Combined with his exit and Söderling's taking the title, Murray found himself pushed down a spot in the rankings, down to no. 5 from no. 4.[142] At the Tour finals in London, Murray opened with a straight-sets victory over Söderling.[143] In Murray's second round-robin match, he faced Federer, whom he had beaten in their last two meetings. On this occasion, however, Murray suffered a straight-sets defeat.[144] Murray then faced David Ferrer in his last group match. Murray lost the first two games, but came back to take six in a row to win the set 6–2 and to qualify for the semifinals. Murray closed out the match with a 6–2 second set to finish the group stage with a win,[145] before facing Nadal in the semifinal. They battled for over three hours, before Murray fell to the Spaniard in a final-set tie-breaker, bringing an end to his season.[146]
Murray started 2011 by playing alongside fellow Brit Laura Robson in the 2011 Hopman Cup. They did not make it past the round-robin stage, losing all three ties against Italy, France, and the USA. Despite losing all three ties, Murray won all of his singles matches. He beat Potito Starace, Nicolas Mahut, and John Isner . Murray, along with other stars such as Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djoković, participated in the Rally for Relief event to help raise money for the flood victims in Queensland.[147]
Seeded fifth in the Australian Open, Murray met former champion Novak Djoković in the final and was defeated in straight sets. Murray made a quick return, participating at Rotterdam. He was defeated by Marcos Baghdatis in the first round.[148] Murray reached the semifinals of the doubles tournament with his brother Jamie. Murray lost in the first round at the Masters Series events at Indian Wells and Miami. Murray lost to American qualifiers Donald Young and Alex Bogomolov Jr. respectivly. After Miami, Murray split with Àlex Corretja, who was his coach at the time.[149]
Murray made a return to form at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, where he faced Nadal in the semifinals. Murray sustained an elbow injury before the match but put up a battle losing to the Spaniard after nearly three hours.[150] Murray subsequently withdrew from the 2011 Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell due to the injury.[151] Murray played at the Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, where he was then beaten in the third round by Thomaz Bellucci.[152] After Madrid, Murray proceeded to the Rome Masters where he lost in the semifinals against Novak Djoković.[citation needed] At the 2011 French Open, Murray twisted his ankle during his third round match with Berrer and looked like he may have to withdraw but limped round to with the match.[153] However Murray carried on and battled back from two sets down against Troicki in the fourth round. A ball boy inadvertantly interfered with play at a start of a game and eventually found Murray found himself broken and 5–2 down before recovering to win the set.[154] Murray lost in the his first semifinal at Roland Garros, against Rafael Nadal.[155]
Murray defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, to win his second Queen's Club title..[156] At Wimbledon, Murray lost in the semifinal to Nadal, despite taking the first set.[157] At the Davis Cup tie between Great Britain and Luxembourg, Murray lead the British team to victory.[158]
Murray was the two-time defending 2011 Rogers Cup champion, but lost his first match in the second round, to South African Kevin Anderson.[159] However, the following week, he won the 2011 Western & Southern Open, beating Novak Djoković, 6–4, 3–0 (ret), after Djokovic retired due to injury.[citation needed] At the 2011 US Open, Murray defeated Somdev Devvarman in straights sets in the first round, and battled from two sets down to win a five set encounter 6–7, 2–6, 6–2, 6–0, 6–4 with Robin Haase. He then defeated Feliciano López and Donald Young in straight sets in the third and fourth round. He then fought out a four set encounter with American giant John Isner 7–5, 6–4, 3–6, 7–6. He reached the semi-finals for a third time in a row this year, but again lost to Rafael Nadal in four sets 4–6, 2–6, 6–3, 2–6.
His next tournament was the Thailand Open, Murray went on to win the tournament defeating Donald Young 6–2, 6–0 in 48 minutes. He only dropped one set all tournament. The following week he won his third title in four tournaments by winning the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships. His opponent in the final was Rafael Nadal who he beat for the first time in the year by winning in three sets 3–6, 6–2, 6–0. Murray dropped only four points in the final set. He then completed his domination in Tokyo by winning the doubles partnering brother Jamie Murray defeating František Čermák and Filip Polášek 6–1, 6–4. This is his second doubles title and with this victory, he became the first person in the 2011 season to capture both singles and doubles titles at the same tournament. Murray then successfully defended his Shanghai Masters crown with a straight sets victory over David Ferrer in the final 7–5, 6–4.
The defence of the title meant he overtook Roger Federer in ranking points and moved up to no. 3 in the world. At the ATP World Tour Finals, Murray lost to David Ferrer in straight sets, 4–6, 5–7, and withdraw from the tournament after the loss with a groin pull. With the early loss and withdrawal from the tournament and with Roger Federer winning the title, Murray dropped one position back in the rankings to end the year as no. 4 in the world behind Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer.
Murray started the season once again ranked world no. 4 and appointed former world no. 1 Ivan Lendl as his new full-time coach.[160] He began the season by playing in the 2012 Brisbane International for the first time as the top seed in singles. He also played doubles with Marcos Baghdatis.[161] He overcame a slow start in his first two matches to win his 22nd title by beating Alexandr Dolgopolov, 6–1, 6–3 in the final.[162] In doubles, he lost in the quarterfinals against second seeds Jürgen Melzer and Philipp Petzschner in a tight match which ended 6–3, 3–6, 13–15.[citation needed]
In the week prior to the Australian Open, Murray appeared in a one-off exhibition match against David Nalbandian at Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club, home of the unofficial AAMI Classic. Murray emerged victorious, defeating Nalbandian, 6–3, 7–6, after coming from a break down in the second set.[163] At the Australian Open, Murray started off with a 4-set win against Ryan Harrison. In the second round, he beat Édouard Roger-Vasselin in three sets, and in the third round, he beat Michaël Llodra, also in three sets, to proceed to the last sixteen.[164] Murray went on to beat Mikhail Kukushkin in the fourth round, 6–1, 6–1, 1–0 (ret), after his opponent retired due to the searing heat in Melbourne. Murray also beat Kei Nishikori in straight sets in the quarterfinals. Murray played a 4 hour and 50 minute semifinal match against Novak Djokovic, but was defeated, 3–6, 6–3, 7–6, 1–6, 5–7.[165]
At the Dubai Open, Murray defeated Novak Djokovic in the semifinals, 6–2, 7–5,[166] but lost in the final to Roger Federer, 5–7, 4–6.[167] At the 2012 BNP Paribas Open, Murray lost his opening second-round match to Spanish qualifier Guillermo García López, in straight sets, 4–6, 2–6. This was the second successive time that Murray had lost his opening match at the event.[168] Following Indian Wells, Murray made the finals of the Miami Masters, losing to Novak Djokovic, 1–6, 6–7.[169]
In Rome, he was eliminated in the third round by Richard Gasquet, 7–6(1), 3–6, 2–6.
Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score in the final |
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Runner-up | 2008 | US Open | Hard | Roger Federer | 2–6, 5–7, 2–6 |
Runner-up | 2010 | Australian Open | Hard | Roger Federer | 3–6, 4–6, 6–7(11–13) |
Runner-up | 2011 | Australian Open (2) | Hard | Novak Djokovic | 4–6, 2–6, 3–6 |
W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | A | P | Z# | PO | SF-B | F | NMS |
Won tournament, or reached Final, Semifinal, Quarterfinal, Round 4, 3, 2, 1, played in Round Robin or lost in Qualification Round 3, Round 2, Round 1, Absent from a tournament or Participated in a team event, played in a Davis Cup Zonal Group (with its number indication) or Play-off, won a bronze or silver match at the Olympics. The last is for a Masters Series/1000 tournament that was relegated (Not a Masters Series). This table is current through to the 2012 Australian Open.
Tournament | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | SR | W–L | Win % | ||||||||
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Grand Slam tournaments | |||||||||||||||||||
Australian Open | A | 1R | 4R | 1R | 4R | F | F | SF | 0 / 7 | 23–7 | 76.67 | ||||||||
French Open | A | 1R | A | 3R | QF | 4R | SF | 0 / 5 | 14–5 | 73.68 | |||||||||
Wimbledon | 3R | 4R | A | QF | SF | SF | SF | 0 / 6 | 24–6 | 80.00 | |||||||||
US Open | 2R | 4R | 3R | F | 4R | 3R | SF | 0 / 7 | 22–7 | 75.86 | |||||||||
Win–Loss | 3–2 | 6–4 | 5–2 | 12–4 | 15–4 | 16–4 | 21–4 | 5–1 | 0 / 25 | 83–25 | 76.85 |
Murray is best described as a defensive counter-puncher;[170] professional tennis coach Paul Annacone stated that Murray "may be the best counterpuncher on tour today."[171] His strengths include groundstrokes with low error rate, the ability to anticipate and react, and his transition from defence to offence with speed, which enables him to hit winners from defensive positions. His playing style has been likened to that of Miloslav Mečíř.[172] Murray's tactics usually involve passive exchanges from the baseline, usually waiting for an unforced error. However, Murray has been criticised for his generally passive style of play and lack of offensive weapons, prompting some to call him a pusher.[173] He is capable of injecting sudden pace to his groundstrokes to surprise his opponents who are used to the slow rally. Murray is also one of the top returners in the game, often able to block back fast serves with his excellent reach and uncanny ability to anticipate. For this reason, Murray is rarely aced.[174] Murray is also known for being one of the most intelligent tacticians on the court, often constructing points.[175][176] Murray is most proficient on a fast surface (such as hard courts),[177] although he has worked hard since 2008 on improving his clay court game.[178]
Early in his career, most of his main tour wins came on hard courts. However, he claimed to prefer clay courts,[179][180] because of his training in Barcelona as a junior player.[181]
Murray is sponsored by Head and plays the YOUTEK Radical Pro with a Prestige grommet. He wore Fred Perry apparel until early 2010, when he signed a five-year £10m contract with adidas. This includes wearing their range of tennis shoe.[182]
Murray identifies himself as Scottish and British.[183][184] Prior to Wimbledon 2006, Murray caused some public debate when he was quoted as saying he would "support anyone but England" at the 2006 World Cup.[185] He received large amounts of hate mail on his website as a result.[186] It was also reported that Murray had worn a Paraguay shirt on the day of England's World Cup match with the South American team.[185]
Murray explained that his comments were said in jest during a light-hearted interview with sports columnist Maurice Russo,[187] who asked him if he would be supporting Scotland in the World Cup, in the knowledge that Scotland had failed to qualify for the tournament.[188] Sports journalist Des Kelly wrote that another tabloid had later "lifted a couple of [the comments] into a 'story' that took on a life of its own and from there the truth was lost" and that he despaired over the "nonsensical criticism".[189]
Murray protested that he is "not anti-English and never was"[183] and he expressed disappointment over England's subsequent elimination by Portugal.[190] In an interview with Nicky Campbell on BBC Radio 5 Live, Tim Henman confirmed that the remarks had been made in jest and were only in response to Murray being teased by Kelly[187] and Henman.[191] He also stated that the rumour that Murray had worn a Paraguay shirt was untrue.[191]
In an interview with Gabby Logan for the BBC's Inside Sport programme, Murray said that he was both Scottish and British and was comfortable and happy with his British identity.[192] He said he saw no conflict between the two and was equally proud of them. He has also pointed out that he is quarter English with some of his family originating from Newcastle, and that his girlfriend, Kim Sears, is English.[193]
In 2006 Murray caused an uproar during a match between him and Kenneth Carlsen. Murray was first given a warning for racket abuse then he stated that he and Carlsen had "played like women" during the first set.[194] Murray was heavily booed for the remainder of the interview, but explained later that the comment was in jest to what Svetlana Kuznetsova had said at the Hopman Cup.[195] A few months later Murray was fined $2,500 for swearing at the umpire during a Davis Cup doubles rubber with Serbia and Montenegro. Murray refused to shake hands with the umpire at the end of the match.[196]
In 2007 Murray suggested that tennis had a match fixing problem, stating that everyone knows it goes on,[197] in the wake of the investigation surrounding Nikolay Davydenko.[198] Both Davydenko and Rafael Nadal questioned his comments, but Murray responded that his words had been taken out of context.[199]
In 2008, Murray withdrew from a Davis Cup tie, leading his brother to question his heart for the competition.[200][dead link]
See more Wikipedia articles related to this topic. |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Andy Murray |
Sporting positions | ||
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Preceded by Sam Querrey |
US Open Series Champion 2010 |
Succeeded by Mardy Fish |
Awards
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Preceded by Kate Haywood |
BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year 2004 |
Succeeded by Harry Aikines-Aryeetey |
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Persondata | |
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Name | Murray, Andy |
Alternative names | Murray, Andrew |
Short description | Tennis player |
Date of birth | 15 May 1987 |
Place of birth | Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom |
Date of death | |
Place of death |
|
Roger Federer (German pronunciation: [ˈfeːdəʁɐ]) (born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP No. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks from 2 February 2004 to 18 August 2008.[2] Federer has occupied the #1 ranking for 285 overall weeks, one week short of the record 286 weeks held by Pete Sampras. As of 28 May 2012, he is ranked World No. 3. Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles. He is one of seven male players to capture the career Grand Slam and one of three (with Andre Agassi and Rafael Nadal) to do so on three different surfaces (clay, grass, and hard courts). He is the only male player in tennis history to have reached the title match of each Grand Slam tournament at least five times and also the final at each of the nine ATP Masters 1000 Tournaments. Many sports analysts, tennis critics, and former and current players consider Federer to be the greatest tennis player of all time.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
Federer has appeared in an unprecedented 23 career Grand Slam tournament finals, including a men's record ten in a row, and appeared in 18 of 19 finals from the 2005 Wimbledon Championships through the 2010 Australian Open, the lone exception being the 2008 Australian Open. He holds the record of reaching the semifinals or better of 23 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments over five and a half years, from the 2004 Wimbledon Championships through the 2010 Australian Open.[10] At the 2012 Australian Open, he reached a record 31st consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal. During the course of his run at the 2012 French Open in Roland Garros, Federer eclipsed Jimmy Connors long standing record of 233 match wins in Grand Slam tournaments when he defeated Adrian Ungur in a second round match.
Federer has won a record six ATP World Tour Finals and 20 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments. He also won the Olympic gold medal in doubles with his compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. He spent eight years (2003–2010) continuously in the top 2 in the year-end rankings and nine (2003–2011) in the Top 3, also a record among male players. His rivalry with Rafael Nadal is considered one of the greatest of all time in the sport. Federer is greatly respected by fans and by fellow players alike as shown by the fact that he has won the ATPWorldTour.com Fans' Favorite Award a record nine consecutive times (2003–2011) and the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award (which is voted for by the players themselves) a record seven times overall and six times consecutively (2004–2009, 2011). Federer also won the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year Award in 2006. In 2011, he was voted the second most trusted and respected person in the world, second only to Nelson Mandela.[11][12]
As a result of Federer's successes in tennis, he was named the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year for a record four consecutive years (2005–2008)[13] and in 2012 he topped a list of the "100 greatest tennis players of all time" (male or female) by Tennis Channel.[14] He is often referred to as the Federer Express[15] or abbreviated to Fed Express, or FedEx, the Swiss Maestro,[15] or simply Maestro.[15][16][17][18]
Contents |
Federer was born in Binningen, Arlesheim near Basel, to Swiss national Robert Federer and South African-born Lynette Durand.[19] He holds both Swiss and South African citizenships.[20] He grew up in nearby Münchenstein, close to the French and German borders and speaks Swiss German, German, French and English fluently, Swiss German being his native language.[19][21][22] He was raised as a Roman Catholic and met Pope Benedict XVI while playing the 2006 Internazionali BNL d'Italia tournament in Rome.[23] Like all male Swiss citizens, Federer was subject to compulsory military service in the Swiss Armed Forces. However, in 2003 he was deemed unfit due to a long-standing back problem and was subsequently not required to fulfill his military obligation.[24] Federer himself also credits the range of sports he played as a child—he also played badminton and basketball—for his hand-eye coordination. "I was always very much more interested if a ball was involved," he says. Most tennis prodigies, by contrast, play tennis to the exclusion of all other sports.[25]
Federer is married to former Women's Tennis Association player Mirka Vavrinec. He met her while both were competing for Switzerland in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Vavrinec retired from the tour in 2002 because of a foot injury and has since been working as Federer's public relations manager.[26] They were married in Basel on 11 April 2009, surrounded by a small group of close friends and family at Wenkenhof Villa (municipality of Riehen).[27] On 23 July 2009, Mirka gave birth to twin girls, Myla Rose and Charlene Riva.[28]
Federer supports a number of charities. He established the Roger Federer Foundation in 2003 to help disadvantaged people and to promote sports.[29][30] In 2005, he auctioned his racquet from his US Open championship to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina.[31] He was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador by UNICEF in 2006.[32] At the 2005 Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, Federer arranged an exhibition involving several top players from the ATP tour and WTA tour called Rally for Relief. The proceeds from the event went to the victims of the tsunami caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. Since then, he has visited South Africa and Tamil Nadu, one of the areas in India most affected by the tsunami.[33] He has also appeared in UNICEF public messages to raise public awareness of AIDS. In response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Federer arranged a collaboration with fellow top tennis players Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Roddick, Kim Clijsters, Serena Williams, Lleyton Hewitt, and Sam Stosur to forgo their final day of preparation for the 2010 Australian Open to form a special charity event called Hit for Haiti, in which all proceeds went to Haiti earthquake victims.[34] He was named a 2010 Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in recognition of his leadership, accomplishments, and contributions to society.[35]
Similar to the 2010 event, Hit for Haiti, Federer organized and participated in a charity match called Rally for Relief on 16 January 2011, to benefit those that were affected by the 2010–2011 Queensland floods.
Federer is currently number 31 on Forbes top 100 celebrities as of May 2012. [36]
Federer's main accomplishments as a junior player came at Wimbledon in 1998, where he won both the boys' singles tournament over Irakli Labadze,[37] and in doubles teamed up with Olivier Rochus, defeating the team of Michaël Llodra and Andy Ram.[38] In addition, Federer lost the US Open Junior tournament in 1998 to David Nalbandian. He won four ITF junior singles tournaments in his career, including the prestigious Orange Bowl, where he defeated Guillermo Coria, in the finals.[39] He ended 1998 as the junior world no. 1.
Federer's first tournament as a professional was Gstaad in 1998 (12th grade), where he faced Lucas Arnold Ker in the round of 32 and lost.[40] Federer's first final came at the Marseille Open in 2000, where he lost to fellow Swiss Marc Rosset.[41] Federer won the 2001 Hopman Cup representing Switzerland along with Martina Hingis. The duo defeated the American pair of Monica Seles and Jan-Michael Gambill in the finals. Federer's first win was at the 2001 Milan Indoor tournament, where he defeated Julien Boutter.[41] Although he won his first ever title already in 1999 on the challenger tour, winning the doubles event in Segovia, Spain together with Dutchman Sander Groen, the finals was played on Federer´s 18th birthday. In 2001, Federer made his first Grand Slam quarterfinal at the French Open, and at Wimbledon that same year defeated four-time defending champion Pete Sampras to reach the quarterfinals. The most prestigious event final he reached during this period was the 2002 Miami Masters event, where he lost to Andre Agassi, on hard court.[42] In addition, Federer won his first Master Series event at the 2002 Hamburg Masters on clay, over Marat Safin; the victory made him a top-10 player for the first time.[42] Federer made 10 singles finals between 1998 and 2002, of which he won four and lost six.[40][41][42][43][44] He also made six finals in doubles. Of note are Federer and partner Max Mirnyi's defeat in the final of the Indian Wells Masters in 2002, and their victory in the same year in the final of the Rotterdam 500 series event. Federer had won the latter a year earlier with partner Jonas Björkman.[42][44]
In 2003, Federer won his first Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon, beating Mark Philippoussis.[45] Federer won his first and only doubles Masters Series 1000 event in Miami with Max Mirnyi,[46] and made it to one singles Masters Series 1000 event in Rome on clay, which he lost.[45] Federer made it to nine finals on the ATP Tour and won seven of them, including the 500 series events at Dubai and Vienna.[45] Lastly, Federer won the year-end championships over Andre Agassi.[45]
During 2004, Federer won three Grand Slam singles titles for the first time in his career and became the first person to do so since Mats Wilander in 1988. His first Grand Slam hard-court title came at the Australian Open over Marat Safin. He then won his second Wimbledon crown over Andy Roddick.[47] Federer defeated the 2001 US Open champion, Lleyton Hewitt, at the US Open for his first title there.[47] Federer won three ATP Masters Series 1000 events. One was on clay in Hamburg, and the other two were on hard surfaces at Indian Wells and in Canada.[47] Federer took the ATP 500 series event at Dubai and wrapped up the year by winning the year-end championships for the second time.[47]
In 2005, Federer failed to reach the finals of the first two Grand Slam tournaments, losing the Australian Open semifinal to eventual champion Safin and the French Open semifinal to eventual champion Rafael Nadal.[48] However, Federer quickly reestablished his dominance on grass, winning the Wimbledon Championships over Andy Roddick. At the US Open, Federer defeated Andre Agassi in the latter's last Grand Slam final.[48] Federer also took four ATP Masters Series 1000 wins: Indian Wells, Miami, and Cincinnati on hard court, and Hamburg on clay.[48] Furthermore, Federer won two ATP 500 series events at Rotterdam and Dubai.[48] Federer lost the year-end championships to David Nalbandian in the final.[48]
In 2006, Federer won three Grand Slam singles titles and reached the final of the other, with the only loss coming against Nadal in the French Open. This was the two men's first meeting in a Grand Slam final.[49] Federer defeated Nadal in the Wimbledon Championships final. In the Australian Open, Federer defeated Marcos Baghdatis,[49] and at the US Open, Federer defeated Roddick (2003 champion).[49] In addition, Federer made it to six ATP Masters Series 1000 finals, winning four on hard surfaces and losing two on clay to Nadal. Federer won one ATP 500 series event in Tokyo and captured the year-end championships for the third time in his career.[49]
In 2007, Federer reached all four Grand Slam singles finals, winning three of them. He won the Australian Open over Fernando González, Wimbledon over Rafael Nadal for the second time, and the US Open over Novak Djokovic. Federer lost the French Open to Nadal.[50] Federer made five ATP Masters Series 1000 finals in 2007, winning the Hamburg and Cincinnati titles.[50] Federer won one 500 series event in Dubai and won the year-end championships.[50]
In 2008, Federer won one Grand Slam singles title, which came at the US Open over Briton Andy Murray.[51] Federer was defeated by Nadal in two Grand Slam finals, at the French Open, and at Wimbledon, when he was going for six straight wins to break Björn Borg's record.[51] At the Australian Open, Federer lost in the semifinals to Djokovic, which ended his record of 10 consecutive finals.[51] Federer lost twice in Master Series 1000 finals on clay to Nadal, at Monte Carlo and Hamburg.[51] However, Federer captured two titles in 250-level events at Estoril and Halle and one title in a 500 level event in Basel. In doubles, Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka won the gold medal at the Olympic Games.[52]
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Federer on the Cover of Sports Illustrated After 2009 French Open Victory |
In 2009, Federer won two Grand Slam singles titles, the French Open over Robin Söderling, and Wimbledon over Andy Roddick.[53] Federer reached two other Grand Slam finals, losing to Nadal at the Australian Open, and to Juan Martín del Potro at the US Open.[53] Federer won two more events, the first at the Madrid Masters over Nadal in the final on clay.[53] The second was in Cincinnati over Djokovic, although Federer lost to Djokovic in Basel, later in the year.[53] Federer completed a career Grand Slam by winning his first French Open title and won a men's record fifteenth Grand Slam singles title, surpassing Pete Sampras's mark of fourteen.[53]
In 2010, Federer slowed down in his milestones and achievements. The year started with a win at the Australian Open,[54] where he defeated Andy Murray in the final and improved his Grand Slam singles record to sixteen titles.[51] But at the French Open, Federer failed to reach a Grand Slam semifinal for the first time since the 2004 French Open, losing to Söderling, in the quarterfinals, and losing his no. 1 ranking.[54] At the French Open, Federer won his 700th tour match and 150th tour match on clay.[54][55] Federer was just one week away from equaling Pete Sampras's record of 286 weeks as world no. 1. In a big surprise at Wimbledon, Federer lost in the quarterfinal to Tomáš Berdych, and fell to world no. 3 in the rankings.[54][56][57] At the 2010 US Open, Federer reached the semifinals, avenging his French Open loss to Söderling in the quarterfinals, but then lost a five-set match to third seed Novak Djokovic.[54] Federer made it to four Masters 1000 finals, losing three of them (the Madrid Open, the Canadian Masters, and the Shanghai Masters) while winning the Cincinnati Masters against Mardy Fish.[58] In 2010 Federer equaled Agassi for the number of Masters wins at 17 and tied Bjorn Borg's mark for number of total titles won, moving to just one behind Sampras. Towards the middle of July, Federer hired Pete Sampras' old coach Paul Annacone to put his tennis game and career on the right path on a trial basis.[59] Federer won two lesser titles at the Stockholm Open and the Davidoff Swiss Indoors which brought his tally to 65 career titles. Lastly, Federer won the year-end championships by beating rival Rafael Nadal, for his fifth title at the event. He showed much of his old form, beating all contenders except Nadal in straight sets. Since Wimbledon 2010, Federer had a win-loss record of 34–4 and had multiple match points in two of his losses: to Novak Djokovic in the semifinal of the US Open, and to Gaël Monfils in the semifinal of the Paris Masters. Federer did not play in the 2010 Davis Cup.
The year 2011, although great by most players' standards, was a lean year for Federer. He was defeated in straight sets in the semifinals of the 2011 Australian Open by eventual champion Novak Djokovic, marking the first time since July 2003 that he did not hold any of the four Major titles. In the French Open semifinal, Federer ended Djokovic's undefeated streak of 43 consecutive wins with a stunning four-set victory. However, Federer then lost in the final to Rafael Nadal. At Wimbledon, Federer advanced to his 29th consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal, but lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. It marked the first time in his career that he had lost a Grand Slam match after winning the first two sets. At the US Open, Federer lost a much-anticipated semifinal match with Novak Djokovic, after squandering two match points in the fifth set which repeated his previous year's result against Djokovic and added a second loss from two sets up in Grand Slam play to his record. The loss at Flushing Meadows meant that Federer did not win any of the four Majors in 2011, the first time this has happened since 2002.
During this 2011 season, Federer won the Qatar Open, defeating Nikolay Davydenko in the final. However, he lost the final in Dubai to Djokovic and lost in the Miami Masters and Madrid Open semifinals to Rafael Nadal. In pulling out of the 2011 Shanghai Masters, Federer dropped out of the top 3 for the first time since June 2003.[60] Later in the season, things picked up for Federer. He ended a 10-month title drought and won the Swiss Indoors for the fifth time, defeating youngster Kei Nishikori, who had defeated an ailing Djokovic in the semifinals. Federer followed this up with his first win at the Paris Masters, where he reached his first final at the event and defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. At the 2011 ATP World Tour Finals, Federer crushed Rafael Nadal in exactly one hour en route to the semifinals,[61] where he defeated David Ferrer to reach the final at the year-end championships for the seventh time, his 100th tour-level final overall. As a result of this win, Federer also regained the world no. 3 ranking from Andy Murray. In the final, he defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga for the third consecutive Sunday and, in doing so, claimed his record sixth ATP World Tour Finals title.[62]
Federer began his 2012 season with the Qatar Open, where he withdrew in the semifinals. He then played in the 2012 Australian Open, where he reached the semifinals, setting up a 27th career meeting with Nadal, a match he lost in four tight sets. He then participated in the Davis Cup representing Switzerland in the 2012 Davis Cup World Group, but Switzerland was eliminated in a home tie against the United States played on indoor clay in Fribourg. The loss included a four-set defeat for Federer at the hands of John Isner as well as a tight four-set loss with Stanislas Wawrinka in the doubles rubber against Mardy Fish and Mike Bryan. He then played the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament for the first time since winning the title in 2005. He beat del Potro in the final to clinch his second title in Rotterdam. Federer then played in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships where he defeated Andy Murray in the final, improved his record against him to 7–8, and won the championship title for the fifth time in his career. Federer then moved on to the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, where he defeated Rafael Nadal in the semifinal, and defeated John Isner in the final. Federer won the title for a record fourth time, and, in doing so, equalled Rafael Nadal's record of 19 ATP Masters 1000 titles. Federer then lost in the third round of the Sony Ericsson Open to Andy Roddick in three sets. Federer went on to compete at the Madrid Masters on new blue clay, where he beat Milos Raonic, Richard Gasquet, David Ferrer, Janko Tipsarevic and Tomáš Berdych in the final and regained the world no. 2 ranking from Rafael Nadal in the process. Federer then participated in the Internazionali BNL d'Italia tournament in Rome where he won over Carlos Berlocq, Juan Carlos Ferrero and Andreas Seppi en route to the semifinal, where he was defeated in straight sets by the defending champion and 2012 runner up Novak Djokovic.
Federer and Nadal have been playing each other since 2004, and their rivalry is a significant part of both men's careers.[63][64][65][66][67]
They held the top two rankings on the ATP Tour from July 2005 until 14 September 2009, when Nadal fell to World No. 3 (Andy Murray became the new No. 2).[68] They are the only pair of men to have ever finished four consecutive calendar years at the top. Federer was ranked number 1 for a record 237 consecutive weeks beginning in February 2004. Nadal, who is five years younger, ascended to No. 2 in July 2005 and held this spot for a record 160 consecutive weeks before surpassing Federer in August 2008.[69]
Nadal leads their head-to-head 18–10. However, most of their matches have been on clay. Federer has a winning record on grass (2–1) and indoor hard courts (4–0) while Nadal leads the outdoor hard courts by 5–2 and clay by 12–2.[70] Because tournament seedings are based on rankings, 19 of their matches have been in tournament finals, including an all-time record 8 Grand Slam finals.[71] From 2006 to 2008 they played in every French Open and Wimbledon final, and then they met in the 2009 Australian Open final and the 2011 French Open final. Nadal won six of the eight, losing the first two Wimbledons. Three of these matches were five set-matches (2007 and 2008 Wimbledon, 2009 Australian Open), and the 2008 Wimbledon final has been lauded as the greatest match ever by many long-time tennis analysts.[72][73][74][75] They have also played in a record 9 Masters Series finals, including their lone five hour match at the 2006 Rome Masters which Nadal won in a fifth-set tie-break having saved two match points.
The two have met 25 times with Federer leading 14–11, and 5–4 in Grand Slam events. Djokovic is the only player besides Nadal to have defeated Federer more than once in a Grand Slam tournament since 2004, the only player besides Nadal to defeat Federer in consecutive grand slam tournaments (2010 US Open and 2011 Australian Open) and the only player besides Nadal who has "double figure" career wins over Federer. Djokovic is one of two players (the other again being Nadal) currently on tour to have defeated Federer in straight sets at a Grand Slam (2008 Australian Open and 2011 Australian Open) and the only player to do it two times.
Because of the continuously improving game and general rise of Djokovic in the last 3 years, many experts include Djokovic when talking about Nadal and Federer (all 3 have played each other at least 25 times) and Federer has cited his rivalry with Djokovic as his second favorite after his rivalry with Nadal. Experts such as John McEnroe have said that this is the beginning of a new change in tennis. Djokovic's recent back-to-back-to-back wins against Federer at the Australian Open, Dubai and Indian Wells tournament have made this rivalry even more intense. During that span, Djokovic had gone on a 43–0 winning streak dating back to the Davis Cup final the previous year. Federer ended Djokovic's perfect 41–0 season defeating him in the semifinals of the 2011 French Open, but Djokovic was able to avenge his loss at the 2011 US Open, and Federer lost with a score of 6–7, 4–6, 6–3, 6–2, 7–5.[76] Federer cited this as one of the greatest losses in his career, as he had 2 consecutive match points in set five, with his serve, and was 2 sets up before Djokovic came back in what has become one of the greatest comebacks in tennis history (according to John McEnroe). McEnroe claimed that Djokovic's crosscourt forehand return was "one of the great all-time shots in tennis history" and that the semifinal was one of the greatest matches in history. Djokovic contributed to ending Federer's eight-year streak of winning at least one Grand Slam title per year and Djokovic became the second male tennis player to have at least 10 wins against Federer (the other being Nadal).
Many experts have included the rivalry between Federer and Djokovic as one of the best hard-court rivalries in the Open Era.[77]
Federer and Murray have met 15 times, all hard courts, with Murray leading 8–7.[78] Federer has won each of their Grand Slam matches (both were in the final) in straight sets at the 2008 US Open[79] and 2010 Australian Open,[80] but Murray leads 5–1 in ATP 1000 tournaments. They have met three times in the ATP World Tour Finals, with Murray winning in Shanghai in 2008[81] and Federer in London in 2009 and 2010.[82] Their most recent encounter was in the 2012 Dubai final where Federer was victorious. Apart from Nadal, Murray is the only other active player to have a positive head to head record against Federer.
Federer and Lleyton Hewitt have played each other on 26 occasions. Early in their careers, Hewitt dominated Federer, winning seven of their first nine meetings, including a victory from two sets down in the 2003 Davis Cup semifinal which allowed Australia to defeat Switzerland. However, from 2004 onward, Federer has dominated the rivalry, winning 16 of the last 17 meetings to emerge with a 18–8 overall head-to-head record.[83] This is Federer's longest rivalry as these two first played each other as juniors in 1996. They have met in one Grand Slam final, the 2004 US Open final, where Federer won to win his first US Open title. Federer is 9–0 against Hewitt in Grand Slams, and has won six of the Grand Slams in which he has defeated Hewitt.
One of Federer's longstanding rivalries is with American Andy Roddick. Federer and Roddick have met on many occasions, including in four Grand Slam finals (three at Wimbledon and one at the US Open). Federer leads 21–3, making Roddick the ATP player with the most tournament losses to Federer. Roddick lost his World No. 1 ranking to Federer after Federer won his first Australian Open in 2004.
In the 2009 Wimbledon final, Roddick lost to Federer in five sets. It included a fifth set made up of 30 games (a Grand Slam final record) and a match that was over 4 hours long. With that victory, Federer broke Pete Sampras' record of 14 Grand Slam titles.
David Nalbandian was Federer's biggest rival earlier in his career. Both players had an outstanding junior career, Federer won the Wimbledon junior title and Nalbandian won the US Open junior title (beating Federer). Even though Federer has a narrow advantage against Nalbandian, leading their meetings 11–8, Nalbandian beat Federer in their first five meetings after turning professional, including the fourth round of both the Australian Open and US Open in 2003. Their most impressive match was in the 2005 Shanghai Tennis Master Cup, where Nalbandian came back from being two sets to love down against Federer and ultimately prevailed in a fifth set tiebreak. The loss prevented Federer from tying John McEnroe's 82–3 all-time single year record, set in 1984. Nalbandian, Lleyton Hewitt and Andy Murray have beaten Federer 8 times, with only Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic recording more victories over Federer.
Federer's versatility was summarised by Jimmy Connors: "In an era of specialists, you're either a clay court specialist, a grass court specialist, or a hard court specialist...or you're Roger Federer."[84]
Federer is an all-court, all-round player known for his speed, fluid style of play, and exceptional shot making. Federer mainly plays from the baseline but is also comfortable at the net, being one of the best volleyers in the game today. He has a powerful, accurate smash and very effectively performs rare elements in today's tennis, such as backhand smash, half-volley and jump smash (slam dunk). David Foster Wallace compared the brute force of Federer's forehand motion with that of "a great liquid whip,"[85] while John McEnroe has referred to Federer's forehand as "the greatest shot in our sport."[86] Federer is also known for his efficient movement around the court and excellent footwork, which enables him to run around shots directed to his backhand and instead hit a powerful inside-out or inside-in forehand, one of his best shots. Though Federer plays with a single-handed backhand which gives him great variety. Federer's forehand and backhand slice are both known as the best ever to enter the game. He employs the slice, occasionally using it to lure the opponent to the net and pass him. Federer can also fire topspin winners and possesses a 'flick' backhand where he can generate pace with his wrist; this is usually used to pass the opponent at the net.[85] His serve is difficult to read because he always uses a similar ball toss regardless of what type of serve he is going to hit and where he aims to hit it, and turns his back to his opponents during his motion. He is often able to produce big serves on key points during a match. His first serve is typically around 200 km/h (125 mph);[87][88][89] however, he is capable of serving at 220 km/h (137 mph).[87][88] Federer is also accomplished at serve and volleying,[90] and employed this tactic especially frequently in his early career.[91] His speciality is a half-volley from the baseline which enables him to play close to the baseline and to pick up even the deeper shots very early after they bounce, giving his opponents less time to react.[citation needed] Later in his career Federer added the drop shot to his arsenal, and can perform a well-disguised one off both wings. He sometimes uses a between-the-legs shot, which is colloquially referred to as a "tweener." His most notable use of the tweener was in the semifinals of the 2009 US Open against Novak Djokovic, bringing him triple match point, on which he capitalised for a straight-set victory over the Serb.[92]
Federer currently plays with a customised Wilson Pro Staff Six.One 90 BLX tennis racquet,[93] which is characterised by its smaller hitting area of 90 square inches, heavy strung weight of 357.2 grams, and thin beam of 17.5 millimeters. His grip size is 4 3/8 inches (sometimes referred to as L3).[94] Federer strings his racquets at 21.5 kg mains/20 kg crosses pre stretched 20%, utilizing Wilson Natural Gut 16 gauge for his main strings and Luxilon Big Banger ALU Power Rough 16L gauge (polyester) for his cross strings.[94] When asked about string tensions, Federer stated "this depends on how warm the days are and with what kind of balls I play and against who I play. So you can see – it depends on several factors and not just the surface; the feeling I have is most important."[95]
Federer is one of the highest-earning athletes in the world. He has a contract with Nike footwear and apparel.[96] For the 2006 championships at Wimbledon, Nike designed a jacket emblazoned with a crest of three tennis racquets, symbolising the three Wimbledon Championships he had previously won, and which was updated the next year with four racquets after he won the Championship in 2006.[97] In Wimbledon 2008 and again in 2009, Nike continued this trend by making him a personalised cardigan.[98] He also has his own logo, an R and F joined together.[99] Federer endorses Gillette,[100] Jura, a Swiss-based coffee machine company,[101] as well as Mercedes-Benz and NetJets. Federer also endorses Rolex watches,[102] although he was previously an ambassador for Maurice Lacroix.[103] Also in 2009 Federer became brand ambassador for Swiss chocolate makers Lindt.[104] In 2010 his endorsement by Mercedes-Benz China was extended into a global Mercedes-Benz partnership deal.[105]
Information in these tables is updated only once the player's participation in the tournament has concluded.
Tournament | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | SR | W–L | Win % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Australian Open | A | LQ | 3R | 3R | 4R | 4R | W | SF | W | W | SF | F | W | SF | SF | 4 / 13 | 63–9 | 87.50 |
French Open | A | 1R | 4R | QF | 1R | 1R | 3R | SF | F | F | F | W | QF | F | 1 / 14 | 52–12 | 81.25 | |
Wimbledon | A | 1R | 1R | QF | 1R | W | W | W | W | W | F | W | QF | QF | 6 / 13 | 59–7 | 89.39 | |
US Open | A | LQ | 3R | 4R | 4R | 4R | W | W | W | W | W | F | SF | SF | 5 / 12 | 61–7 | 89.71 | |
Win–Loss | 0–0 | 0–2 | 7–4 | 13–4 | 6–4 | 13–3 | 22–1 | 24–2 | 27–1 | 26–1 | 24–3 | 26–2 | 20–3 | 20–4 | 7–1 | 16 / 52 | 235–35 | 87.04 |
Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Winner | 2003 | Wimbledon (1) | Grass | Mark Philippoussis | 7–6(7–5), 6–2, 7–6(7–3) |
Winner | 2004 | Australian Open (1) | Hard | Marat Safin | 7–6(7–3), 6–4, 6–2 |
Winner | 2004 | Wimbledon (2) | Grass | Andy Roddick | 4–6, 7–5, 7–6(7–3), 6–4 |
Winner | 2004 | US Open (1) | Hard | Lleyton Hewitt | 6–0, 7–6(7–3), 6–0 |
Winner | 2005 | Wimbledon (3) | Grass | Andy Roddick | 6–2, 7–6(7–2), 6–4 |
Winner | 2005 | US Open (2) | Hard | Andre Agassi | 6–3, 2–6, 7–6(7–1), 6–1 |
Winner | 2006 | Australian Open (2) | Hard | Marcos Baghdatis | 5–7, 7–5, 6–0, 6–2 |
Runner-up | 2006 | French Open (1) | Clay | Rafael Nadal | 6–1, 1–6, 4–6, 6–7(4–7) |
Winner | 2006 | Wimbledon (4) | Grass | Rafael Nadal | 6–0, 7–6(7–5), 6–7(2–7), 6–3 |
Winner | 2006 | US Open (3) | Hard | Andy Roddick | 6–2, 4–6, 7–5, 6–1 |
Winner | 2007 | Australian Open (3) | Hard | Fernando González | 7–6(7–2), 6–4, 6–4 |
Runner-up | 2007 | French Open (2) | Clay | Rafael Nadal | 3–6, 6–4, 3–6, 4–6 |
Winner | 2007 | Wimbledon (5) | Grass | Rafael Nadal | 7–6(9–7), 4–6, 7–6(7–3), 2–6, 6–2 |
Winner | 2007 | US Open (4) | Hard | Novak Djokovic | 7–6(7–4), 7–6(7–2), 6–4 |
Runner-up | 2008 | French Open (3) | Clay | Rafael Nadal | 1–6, 3–6, 0–6 |
Runner-up | 2008 | Wimbledon (1) | Grass | Rafael Nadal | 4–6, 4–6, 7–6(7–5), 7–6(10–8), 7–9 |
Winner | 2008 | US Open (5) | Hard | Andy Murray | 6–2, 7–5, 6–2 |
Runner-up | 2009 | Australian Open (1) | Hard | Rafael Nadal | 5–7, 6–3, 6–7(3–7), 6–3, 2–6 |
Winner | 2009 | French Open (1) | Clay | Robin Söderling | 6–1, 7–6(7–1), 6–4 |
Winner | 2009 | Wimbledon (6) | Grass | Andy Roddick | 5–7, 7–6(8–6), 7–6(7–5), 3–6, 16–14 |
Runner-up | 2009 | US Open (1) | Hard | Juan Martín del Potro | 6–3, 6–7(5–7), 6–4, 6–7(4–7), 2–6 |
Winner | 2010 | Australian Open (4) | Hard | Andy Murray | 6–3, 6–4, 7–6(13–11) |
Runner-up | 2011 | French Open (4) | Clay | Rafael Nadal | 5–7, 6–7(3–7), 7–5, 1–6 |
Tournament | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | SR | W–L | Win % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
YEC | NQ | NQ | NQ | NQ | SF | W | W | F | W | W | RR | SF | W | W | 6 / 10 | 39–7 | 84.78 | |
Win–Loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 5–0 | 5–0 | 4–1 | 5–0 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 5–0 | 5–0 |
Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Winner | 2003 | Houston | Hard | Andre Agassi | 6–3, 6–0, 6–4 |
Winner | 2004 | Houston | Hard | Lleyton Hewitt | 6–3, 6–2 |
Runner-up | 2005 | Shanghai | Carpet (i) | David Nalbandian | 7–6(7–4), 7–6(13–11), 2–6, 1–6, 6–7(3–7) |
Winner | 2006 | Shanghai | Hard (i) | James Blake | 6–0, 6–3, 6–4 |
Winner | 2007 | Shanghai | Hard (i) | David Ferrer | 6–2, 6–3, 6–2 |
Winner | 2010 | London | Hard (i) | Rafael Nadal | 6–3, 3–6, 6–1 |
Winner | 2011 | London | Hard (i) | Jo-Wilfried Tsonga | 6–3, 6–7(6–8), 6–3 |
Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Winner | 2008 | Beijing | Hard | Wawrinka | Aspelin Johansson |
6–3, 6–4, 6–7(4–7), 6–3 |
Time span | Selected Grand Slam tournament records | Players matched |
---|---|---|
2003 Wimbledon — 2009 French Open |
Career Grand Slam | Rod Laver Andre Agassi Rafael Nadal |
2003 Wimbledon — 2010 Australian Open |
16 titles | Stands alone |
2003 Wimbledon — 2011 French Open |
23 finals | Stands alone |
2005 Wimbledon — 2007 US Open |
10 consecutive finals | Stands alone |
2004 Wimbledon — 2010 Australian Open |
23 consecutive semifinals[106][107] | Stands alone |
2004 Wimbledon — 2012 Australian Open |
31 consecutive quarterfinals | Stands alone |
2004 & 2006–2007 | 3 years winning 3+ titles | Stands alone |
2004–2007 & 2009 | 5 years winning 2+ titles | Stands alone |
2006–2007 | 2 consecutive years winning 3+ titles | Stands alone |
2004–2007 | 4 consecutive years winning 2+ titles | Stands alone |
2003–2010 | 8 consecutive years winning 1+ title[107] | Björn Borg Pete Sampras |
2004 Australian Open — 2011 US Open |
8 consecutive years winning 20+ matches | Stands alone |
2003 Wimbledon — 2010 Australian Open |
4+ titles at 3 different Majors | Stands alone |
2003 Wimbledon — 2011 French Open |
5+ finals at all 4 Majors | Stands alone |
2003 Wimbledon — 2011 French Open |
6+ semifinals at all 4 Majors | Stands alone |
2001 French Open — 2011 US Open |
8+ quarterfinals at all 4 Majors | Stands alone |
2003 Wimbledon — 2008 US Open |
5 consecutive titles at 2 different Majors[107] | Stands alone |
2003 Wimbledon — 2007 French Open |
2+ consecutive finals at all 4 Majors | Ivan Lendl |
2003 Wimbledon — 2009 French Open |
5+ consecutive semifinals at all 4 Majors | Stands alone |
2003 Wimbledon — 2011 US Open |
7+ consecutive quarterfinals at all 4 Majors | Stands alone |
2003 Wimbledon — 2006 Australian Open |
First 7 finals won | Stands alone |
2004 Australian Open — 2010 Australian Open |
9 hard-court titles | Stands alone |
2006–2007 & 2009 | All 4 Major finals in 1 season | Rod Laver |
2006 French Open — 2009 US Open |
Runner-up finishes at all 4 Majors | Ivan Lendl |
2000 Australian Open — 2012 French Open |
235 match wins overall[108] | Stands alone |
2000 Australian Open — 2012 French Open |
50+ match wins at all 4 Majors[109] | Stands alone |
2006 | 27 match wins in 1 season | Stands alone |
2004 French Open — 2008 Wimbledon |
18 consecutive No. 1 seeds | Stands alone |
2006 US Open — 2007 French Open |
36 consecutive sets won | Stands alone |
2007 US Open | 35 consecutive service points won | Stands alone |
2009 Wimbledon | 50 aces in a final | Stands alone |
2007 US Open | $2.4 million earned at one event | Stands alone |
2005 Wimbledon — 2007 French Open |
2 winning streaks of 25+ matches | Stands alone |
2005 Wimbledon — 2009 US Open |
3 winning streaks of 20+ matches | Stands alone |
2004 Wimbledon — 2009 US Open |
5 winning streaks of 15+ matches | Stands alone |
Grand Slam tournaments | Time Span | Records at each Grand Slam tournament | Players matched |
---|---|---|---|
Australian Open | 2004–2010 | 4 titles overall | Andre Agassi |
Australian Open | 2006–2007 | 2 consecutive titles | Ken Rosewall Guillermo Vilas Johan Kriek Mats Wilander Stefan Edberg Ivan Lendl Jim Courier Andre Agassi Novak Djokovic |
Australian Open | 2004–2007 | 3 titles in 4 years | Andre Agassi |
Australian Open | 2004–2010 | 5 finals overall | Stefan Edberg |
Australian Open | 2004–2012 | 9 consecutive semifinals | Stands alone |
Australian Open | 2007 | Won without dropping a set[110] | Ken Rosewall |
Australian Open | 2000–2012 | 63 match wins overall[110] | Stands alone |
French Open | 2006–2009 | 4 consecutive finals | Björn Borg Ivan Lendl Rafael Nadal |
French Open | 2006–2008, 2011 | 4 runner-ups[111] | Stands alone |
French Open | 2006–2008 | 3 consecutive runner-ups | Stands alone |
French Open | 2005–2009 | 5 consecutive semifinals | Stands alone |
French Open—Wimbledon | 2009 | Accomplished a "Channel Slam": Winning both tournaments in the same year | Rod Laver Björn Borg Rafael Nadal |
Wimbledon | 2003–2007 | 5 consecutive titles[112] | Björn Borg |
Wimbledon | 2003–2009 | 7 finals overall | Boris Becker Pete Sampras |
Wimbledon | 2003–2009 | 7 consecutive finals | Stands alone |
Wimbledon | 2003–2009 | 7 consecutive semifinals | Stands alone |
US Open | 2004–2008 | 5 titles overall | Jimmy Connors Pete Sampras |
US Open | 2004–2008 | 5 consecutive titles | Stands alone |
US Open | 2004–2009 | 40 consecutive match wins[113] | Stands alone |
US Open | 1999–2011 | 89.71% (61–7) match winning percentage | Stands alone |
Time span | Other selected records | Players matched |
---|---|---|
2 February 2004 — 17 August 2008 |
237 consecutive weeks at No. 1[107] | Stands alone |
2003–2005 | 26 consecutive match victories vs. top 10 opponents | Stands alone |
2005–2006 | 56 consecutive hard court match victories | Stands alone |
2003–2008 | 65 consecutive grass court match victories[107] | Stands alone |
2003–2005 | 24 consecutive tournament finals won[107] | Stands alone |
2001–2012 | 10+ titles on grass, clay and hard courts | Stands alone |
2003–2009 | 11 grass court titles | Stands alone |
2002–2012 | 51 hard court titles | Stands alone |
2006 | 9 hard court titles in 1 season | Jimmy Connors |
1998–2012 | 315 tiebreaks won[114] | Stands alone |
1999–2011 | 87.18% (102–15) grass court match winning percentage[115] | Stands alone |
1998–2012 | 83.20% (515–104) hard court match winning percentage[116] | Stands alone |
2006 | 94.12% of tournament finals reached in 1 season | Stands alone |
2003–2011 | 6 ATP World Tour Finals titles overall[117] | Stands alone |
2002–2011 | 39 ATP World Tour Finals match wins[117] | Ivan Lendl |
2002–2012 | 32 combined Championship Masters Series finals | Stands alone |
2002–2012 | 44 Masters 1000 semifinals | Stands alone |
2000–2012 | 261 Masters 1000 match wins | Stands alone |
2004–2012 | 14 Masters 1000 hard court titles | Andre Agassi |
2004–2012 | 4 Indian Wells Masters titles[118] | Stands alone |
2004–2008 | 2 consecutive Olympic games as wire-to-wire No. 1 | Stands alone |
2005–2007 | 3 consecutive calendar years as wire-to-wire No. 1 | Stands alone |
2005–2007 | 3 calendar years as wire-to-wire No. 1 | Jimmy Connors |
2003–2010 | Ended 8 years ranked inside the top 2 | Jimmy Connors |
2007 | $10 million prize money earned in a season | Rafael Nadal Novak Djokovic |
2005–2007 | 2 winning streaks of 35+ matches | Björn Borg |
2004–2012 | 7 winning streaks of 20+ matches | Stands alone |
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Roger Federer |
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Book: Roger Federer | |
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Persondata | |
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Name | Federer, Roger |
Alternative names | |
Short description | Swiss tennis professional |
Date of birth | 8 August 1981 |
Place of birth | Binningen (near Basel), Switzerland) |
Date of death | |
Place of death |
Bolt at Berlin World Championships 2009 |
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Nickname(s) | Lightning Bolt | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nationality | Jamaican | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | (1986-08-21) 21 August 1986 (age 25)[1] Trelawny, Jamaica[2] |
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Residence | Kingston, Jamaica | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)[3] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 92 kg (200 lb)[3] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Sport | Track and field | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Event(s) | Sprints | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Club | Racers Track Club | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Personal best(s) |
100 m: 9.58 WR (Berlin 2009)[4] |
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Medal record
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The Honourable Usain St. Leo Bolt, OJ, C.D. ( /ˈjuːseɪn/;[8] born 21 August 1986), is a Jamaican sprinter and a five-time World and three-time Olympic gold medalist. He is the world record and Olympic record holder in the 100 metres, the 200 metres and (along with his teammates) the 4×100 metres relay. He is the reigning Olympic champion in these three events, and is one of only seven athletes (along with Valerie Adams, Veronica Campbell-Brown, Jacques Freitag, Yelena Isinbayeva, Jana Pittman, Dani Samuels) to win world championships at the youth, junior, and senior level of an athletic event.
Bolt won a 200 m gold medal at the 2002 World Junior Championships, making him the competition's youngest-ever gold medalist at the time (since surpassed by Jacko Gill). In 2004, at the CARIFTA Games, he became the first junior sprinter to run the 200 m in less than 20 seconds with a time of 19.93 s,[9] breaking the previous world junior record held by Roy Martin by two-tenths of a second. He turned professional in 2004, and although he competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics, he missed most of the next two seasons due to injuries. In 2007, he broke Don Quarrie's 200 m Jamaican record with a run of 19.75 s.
His 2008 season began with his first world record performance—a 100 m world record of 9.72 s—and culminated in world and Olympic records in both the 100 m and 200 m events at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. He ran 9.69 s for the 100 m and 19.30 s in the 200 m, and also set a 4×100 m relay record of 37.10 s with the Jamaican team. This made him the first man to win three sprinting events at a single Olympics since Carl Lewis in 1984, and the first man to set world records in all three at a single Olympics. The following year he further lowered his own 100 m and 200 m world records to 9.58 s and 19.19 s respectively at the 2009 World Championships.[10] This made him the first man to hold both the 100 and 200 m world and Olympic titles at the same time.
His 2009 record breaking margin over 100 m is the highest since the start of digital time measurements.[11] His achievements in sprinting have earned him the media nickname "Lightning Bolt",[12] and awards including the IAAF World Athlete of the Year, Track & Field Athlete of the Year, and Laureus Sportsman of the Year.
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Bolt was born on 21 August 1986 in Sherwood Content,[13] a small town in Trelawny, Jamaica, and grew up with his parents, Wellesley and Jennifer Bolt, his brother Sadeeki,[14] and his sister Sherine.[2][15] His parents ran the local grocery store in the rural area, and Bolt spent his time playing cricket and football in the street with his brother,[16] later saying, "When I was young, I didn’t really think about anything other than sports".[17]
As a child, he attended Waldensia Primary and All-age School, and it was here that he first began to show his sprinting potential, running in the annual national primary-schools' meeting for his parish.[12] By the age of twelve, Bolt had become the school's fastest runner over the 100 metres distance.[18]
Upon his entry to William Knibb Memorial High School, Bolt continued to focus on other sports, but his cricket coach noticed Bolt's speed on the pitch and urged him to try track and field events.[19] Pablo McNeil, a former Olympic sprint athlete,[20] and Dwayne Barrett coached Bolt, encouraging him to focus his energy on improving his athletic abilities. The school had a history of success in athletics with past students, including sprinter Michael Green.[12] Bolt won his first annual high school championships medal in 2001, taking the silver medal in the 200 metres with a time of 22.04 seconds.[12] McNeil soon became his primary coach, and the two enjoyed a positive partnership, although McNeil was occasionally frustrated by Bolt's lack of dedication to his training and his predisposition to practical jokes.[20]
Performing for Jamaica in his first Caribbean regional event, Bolt clocked a personal best of 48.28 s in the 400 metres in the 2001 CARIFTA Games, winning a silver medal. The 200 m also yielded a silver as Bolt finished in 21.81 s.[21]
He made his first appearance on the world stage at the 2001 IAAF World Youth Championships in Debrecen, Hungary. Running in the 200 m event, he failed to qualify for the finals, but he still set a new personal best of 21.73 s.[22] Bolt still did not take athletics or himself too seriously, however, and he took his mischievousness to new heights by hiding in the back of a van when he was supposed to be preparing for the 200 m finals at the CARIFTA Trials. He was detained by the police for his practical joke, and there was an outcry from the local community, which blamed coach McNeil for the incident.[20] However, the controversy subsided, and both McNeil and Bolt went to the CARIFTA Games, where Bolt set championship records in the 200 m and 400 m with times of 21.12 s and 47.33 s, respectively.[21] He continued to set records with 20.61 s and 47.12 s finishes at the Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships.[23]
Former Prime Minister P. J. Patterson recognised Bolt's talent and arranged for him to move to Kingston, along with Jermaine Gonzales, so he could train with the Jamaica Amateur Athletic Association (JAAA) at the University of Technology, Jamaica.[20]
The 2002 World Junior Championships before a home crowd in Kingston, Jamaica, gave Bolt a chance to prove his credentials on the world stage. By the age of 15, he had grown to 1.96 metres (6 ft 5 in) tall, and he physically stood out amongst his peers.[12] He won the 200 m, in a time of 20.61 s,[24] 0.03 seconds slower than his personal best of 20.58 s set in the 1st round.[25] Bolt's 200 m win made him the youngest world-junior gold medalist ever.[26] The expectation from the home crowd had made him so nervous that he had put his shoes on the wrong feet. However, it turned out to be a revelatory experience for Bolt as he vowed never again to let himself be affected by pre-race nerves.[27] As a member of the Jamaican sprint relay team, he also took two silver medals and set national junior records in the 4×100 metres and 4×400 metres relay, running times of 39.15 s and 3:04.06 minutes respectively.[28][29]
The flow of medals continued as he won four gold medals at the 2003 CARIFTA Games, and was awarded the Austin Sealy Trophy for the most outstanding athlete of the games.[30][31][32] He won another gold at the 2003 World Youth Championships. He set a new championship record in the 200 m with a time of 20.40 s, despite a 1.1 m/s head wind.[33] Michael Johnson, the 200 m world-record holder, took note of Bolt's potential but worried that the young sprinter might be over-pressured, stating, "It's all about what he does three, four, five years down the line".[34] Bolt had also impressed the athletics hierarchy, and he received the IAAF Rising Star Award for 2002.[35]
Bolt turned his main focus to the 200 m and equalled Roy Martin's world junior record of 20.13 s at the Pan-American Junior Championships.[12][36] This performance attracted interest from the press, and his times in the 200 m and 400 m led to him being touted as a possible successor to Johnson. Indeed, at sixteen years old, Bolt had reached times that Johnson did not register until he was twenty, and Bolt's 200 m time was superior to Maurice Greene's season's best that year.[34]
In his final Jamaican High School Championships in 2003, he broke both the 200 m and 400 m records with times of 20.25 s and 45.30 s, respectively. Bolt's runs were a significant improvement upon the previous records, beating the 200 m best by more than half a second and the 400 m record by almost a second.[12]
Bolt was growing more popular in his homeland. Howard Hamilton, who was given the task of Public Defender by the government, urged the JAAA to nurture him and prevent burnout, calling Bolt "the most phenomenal sprinter ever produced by this island".[34] His popularity and the attractions of the capital city were beginning to be a burden to the young sprinter. Bolt was increasingly unfocused on his athletic career and preferred to eat fast food, play basketball, and party in Kingston's club scene. In the absence of a disciplined lifestyle, he became ever-more reliant on his natural ability to beat his competitors on the track.[37]
As the reigning 200 m champion at both the World Youth and World Junior championships, Bolt hoped to take a clean sweep of the world 200 m championships in the Senior World Championships in Paris.[12] Bolt beat all comers at the 200 m in the World Championship trials, but he was pragmatic about his chances and noted that, even if he did not make the final, he would consider setting a personal best a success.[34][38] However, he suffered a bout of conjunctivitis before the event, and it ruined his training schedule.[12] Realising he would not be in peak condition, the JAAA refused to let him participate in the finals on the grounds that he was too young and inexperienced. Bolt was dismayed at missing out on the opportunity, but focused on getting himself in shape to gain a place on the Jamaican Olympic team instead.[38] Even though he missed the World Championships, Bolt was awarded the IAAF Rising Star Award for the 2003 season on the strength of his junior record-equalling run.[35]
Under the guidance of new coach Fitz Coleman, Bolt turned professional in 2004, beginning with the CARIFTA Games in Bermuda.[12] He became the first junior sprinter to run the 200 m in under twenty seconds, taking the world junior record outright with a time of 19.93 s.[12][26] For the second time in the role, he was awarded the Austin Sealy Trophy for the most outstanding athlete of the 2004 CARIFTA Games.[39][30][31] A hamstring injury in May ruined Bolt's chances of competing in the 2004 World Junior Championships, but he was still chosen for the Jamaican Olympic squad.[40] Bolt headed to the 2004 Athens Olympics with confidence and a new record on his side. However, he was hampered by a leg injury and was eliminated in the first round of the 200 metres with a disappointing time of 21.05 s.[1][41] American colleges offered Bolt track scholarships on the strength of his performances, but the teenager from Trelawny refused them all, stating that he was content to stay in his homeland of Jamaica.[15] Bolt instead chose the surroundings of the University of Technology, Jamaica, as his professional training ground, staying with the university's primitive track and weight room that had served him well in his amateur years.[42]
The year 2005 signalled a fresh start for Bolt in the form of a new coach, Glen Mills, and a new attitude to athletics. Mills recognised Bolt's potential and aimed to cease the sprinter's unprofessional approach to the sport.[41] Bolt began training with Mills in preparation for the upcoming athletics season, partnering with more-seasoned sprinters such as Kim Collins and Dwain Chambers.[43] The year began well, and in July he knocked more than a third of a second off the 200 m CAC Championship record with a run of 20.03 s,[44] then registered his 200 m season's best at London's Crystal Palace, running in 19.99 s.[1] Misfortune awaited Bolt at the next major event, the 2005 World Championships in Helsinki. Bolt felt that both his work ethic and athleticism had much improved since the 2004 Olympics, and he saw the World Championships as a way to live up to expectations, stating, "I really want to make up for what happened in Athens. Hopefully, everything will fall into place".[45] Bolt qualified with runs under 21 s, but he suffered an injury in the final, finishing in last place with a time of 26.27 s.[41][46] Injuries were preventing him from completing a full professional athletics season, and the eighteen-year-old Bolt still had not proven his mettle in the major world-athletics competitions.[47] Bolt was involved in a car accident in November, and although he suffered only minor facial lacerations, his training schedule was further upset.[48][49] His manager, Norman Peart, made Bolt's training less intensive, and he had fully recuperated the following week.[48] Bolt had continued to improve his performances, and he reached the world top-5 rankings in 2005 and 2006.[12] Peart and Mills stated their intentions to push Bolt to do longer sprinting distances with the aim of making the 400 m event his primary event by 2007 or 2008. Bolt was less enthusiastic, and demanded that he feel comfortable in his sprinting.[48][50] He suffered another hamstring injury in March 2006, forcing him to withdraw from the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, and he did not return to track events until May.[51] After his recovery, Bolt was given new training exercises to improve flexibility, and the plans to move him up to the 400 m event were put on hold.[47]
Upon his return to competition, the 200 m remained his primary event, and he beat Justin Gatlin's meet record in Ostrava, Czech Republic. Bolt had aspired to run under twenty seconds to claim a season's best but, despite the fact that bad weather had impaired his run, he was happy to end the meeting with just the victory.[52] However, a sub-20-second finish was soon his, as he set a new personal best of 19.88 s at the 2006 Athletissima Grand Prix in Lausanne, Switzerland, finishing behind Xavier Carter and Tyson Gay to earn a bronze medal.[53] Bolt had focused his athletics aims, stating that 2006 was a year to gain experience. Also, he was more keen on competing over longer distances, setting his sights on running regularly in both 200 m and 400 m events within the next two years.[52] Bolt claimed his first major world medal two months later at the IAAF World Athletics Final in Stuttgart, Germany. He passed the finishing post with a time of 20.10 s, gaining a bronze medal in the process.[1] The IAAF World Cup in Athens, Greece, yielded Bolt's first senior international silver medal.[1] Wallace Spearmon from the United States won gold with a championship record time of 19.87 s, beating Bolt's respectable time of 19.96 s.[54] Further 200 m honours on both the regional and international stages awaited Bolt in 2007. The young Jamaican yearned to run in the 100 metres, but coach Mills diverted his attention, stating that he could run the shorter distance if he broke the 200 m national record.[41] In the Jamaican Championships, he ran 19.75 s in the 200 m, breaking the 36-year-old Jamaican record held by Don Quarrie by 0.11 s.[12][15]
Mills complied with Bolt's demand to run in the 100 m, and he was entered to run the event at the 23rd Vardinoyiannia meeting in Rethymno, Crete. In his debut tournament run, he set a personal best of 10.03 s, winning the gold medal and feeding his enthusiasm for the event.[15][55]
He built on this achievement at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, Japan, winning a silver medal.[1] Bolt recorded 19.91 s with a headwind of 0.8 m/s but this paled in comparison with Tyson Gay's time of 19.76 s, which set a new championship record.[56]
The Jamaican national record fell when Bolt partnered with Asafa Powell, Marvin Anderson, and Nesta Carter in the 4×100 metres relay. However, their finish in 37.89 s was not enough to beat the Americans' time of 37.78 s.[57] Bolt did not win any gold medals at the major tournaments in 2007, but Mills felt that Bolt's technique was much improved, pinpointing improvements in Bolt's balance at the turns over 200 m and an increase in his stride frequency, giving him more driving power on the track.[41]
The silver medals from the 2007 Osaka World Championships boosted Bolt's desire to run, and he took a more serious, more mature stance towards his career.[19] Bolt continued to develop in the 100 m, and he entered to run in the event at the Jamaica Invitational in Kingston. On 3 May 2008, Bolt ran a time of 9.76 s, aided by a tail wind of 1.8 m/s, considerably improving upon his previous personal best of 10.03 s.[58] This was the second-fastest legal performance in the history of the event; second only to compatriot Asafa Powell's 9.74 s record set the previous year in Rieti, Italy.[59] Rival Tyson Gay lauded the performance, praising Bolt's form and technique especially.[60] Michael Johnson, who was observing the race, said that he was shocked at how quickly he had improved over the 100 m distance.[61] The Jamaican surprised even himself with the time, but coach Glen Mills remained confident that there was more to come.[60]
Mills' prediction came true before the end of the month when Bolt established a new 100 m world record on 31 May 2008. Pushed on by a tail wind of 1.7 m/s, Bolt ran 9.72 s at the Reebok Grand Prix held in the Icahn Stadium in New York City, breaking Powell's record.[62] The record time was even more remarkable in light of the fact that it was only his fifth senior run over the distance.[63] Gay again finished second and commended Bolt's physical superiority, stating, "It looked like his knees were going past my face".[15] Commentators noted that Bolt appeared to have gained a psychological advantage over fellow Olympic contender Gay.[41]
In June 2008, Bolt responded to claims that he was a lazy athlete, saying that the comments were unjustified, and he trained hard to achieve his potential. However, he surmised that such comments stemmed from his lack of enthusiasm for the 400 metres event, and chose to not make the effort to train for distance running.[64] Turning his efforts to the 200 m, Bolt proved that he could excel in multiple events—first setting the world-leading time in Ostrava, then breaking the national record for the second time with a 19.67 s finish in Athens, Greece.[65][66] Although Mills still preferred that Bolt focus on the longer distances, the acceptance of Bolt's demand to run in the 100 m worked for both sprinter and trainer. Bolt was more focused in practice, and a training schedule to boost his top speed and his stamina, in preparation for the Olympics, had improved both his 100 m and 200 m times.[15][67][68] His confidence was building, and he was sure that he would perform well in the upcoming Olympics.[65]
Bolt announced that he would double-up with the 100 metres and 200 metres events at the Beijing Summer Olympics, and the new 100 m world-record holder was the favourite to win both.[69][70] Michael Johnson, the 200 m and 400 m record holder, personally backed the sprinter, saying that he did not believe that a lack of experience would work against him.[71] Bolt qualified for the 100 m final with times of 9.92 s and 9.85 s in the quarter-finals and semifinals, respectively.[72][73][74]
In the Olympic 100 m final, Bolt broke new ground, winning in 9.69 s (unofficially 9.683 s) with a reaction time of 0.165 s.[75] This was an improvement upon his own world record, and he was well ahead of second-place finisher Richard Thompson, who finished in 9.89 s.[76] Not only was the record set without a favourable wind (+0.0 m/s), but he also visibly slowed down to celebrate before he finished and his shoelace was untied.[77][78][79] Bolt's coach reported that, based upon the speed of Bolt's opening 60 m, he could have finished with a time of 9.52 s.[80] After scientific analysis of Bolt's run by the Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics at the University of Oslo, Hans Eriksen and his colleagues also predicted a sub 9.60 s time. Considering factors such as Bolt's position, acceleration and velocity in comparison with second-place-finisher Thompson, the team estimated that Bolt could have finished in 9.55±0.04 s had he not slowed to celebrate before the finishing line.[81][82]
Bolt stated that setting a record was not a priority for him, and that his goal was just to win the gold medal, Jamaica's first of the 2008 Games.[83] Olympic medalist Kriss Akabusi construed Bolt's chest slapping before the finish line as showboating, noting that the actions cost Bolt an even faster record time.[84] IOC president Jacques Rogge also condemned the Jamaican's actions as disrespectful.[85][86] Bolt denied that this was the purpose of his celebration by saying, "I wasn't bragging. When I saw I wasn't covered, I was just happy".[87] Lamine Diack, president of the IAAF, supported Bolt and said that his celebration was appropriate given the circumstances of his victory. Jamaican government minister Edmund Bartlett also defended Bolt's actions, stating, "We have to see it in the glory of their moment and give it to them. We have to allow the personality of youth to express itself".[88]
Bolt then focused on attaining a gold medal in the 200 m event, aiming to emulate Carl Lewis' double win in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.[89] Michael Johnson felt that Bolt would easily win gold but believed that his own world record of 19.32 s set at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta would remain intact at the Olympics.[90] Bolt eased through the first and second rounds of the 200 m, jogging towards the end of his run both times.[91] He won his semifinal and progressed to the final as the favourite to win.[92] Retired Jamaican sprinter Don Quarrie praised Bolt, saying he was confident that Johnson's record could be beaten.[35] The following day, at the final, he won Jamaica's fourth gold of the Games, setting a new world and Olympic record of 19.30 s.[93] Johnson's record fell despite the fact that Bolt was impeded by a 0.9 m/s headwind. The feat made him the first sprinter since Quarrie to hold both 100 m and 200 m world records simultaneously and the first since the introduction of electronic timing.[93][94] Furthermore, Bolt became the first sprinter to break both records at the same Olympics.[95] Unlike in the 100 m final, Bolt sprinted hard all the way to the finishing line in the 200 m race, even dipping his chest to improve his time.[96] Following the race, "Happy Birthday" was played over the stadium's sound system as his 22nd birthday would begin at midnight.[96]
Two days later, Bolt ran as the third leg in the Jamaican 4x100 metres relay team, increasing his gold medal total to three.[97] Along with teammates Nesta Carter, Michael Frater, and Asafa Powell, Bolt broke another world and Olympic record, their 37.10 s finish breaking the previous record by three tenths of a second.[98] Powell, who anchored the team to the finishing line, lamented the loss of his 100 m record to Bolt but showed no animosity towards his Jamaican rival, stating that he was delighted to help him set his third world record.[99] Following his victories, Bolt donated US$50,000 to the children of the Sichuan province of China to help those harmed by the 2008 Sichuan earthquake.[100]
Bolt's record-setting runs caused commentators not only to praise his achievements but also to speculate about his potential to become one of the most successful sprinters ever.[17][101] Critics hailed his Olympic success as a new beginning for a sport that had long suffered through high-profile drug scandals.[63][102][dead link] The previous six years had seen the BALCO scandal, Tim Montgomery and Justin Gatlin stripped of their 100 m world records, and Marion Jones returning three Olympic gold medals.[103] All three sprinters were disqualified from athletics after drugs tests detected banned substances in their systems.[104][105] Bolt's record-breaking performances caused suspicion among some commentators, including Victor Conte, and the lack of an independent Caribbean anti-doping federation raised more concerns.[106][107] The accusations of drug use were vehemently rejected by Glen Mills (Bolt's coach) and Herb Elliott (the Jamaican athletics team doctor). Elliott, a member of the IAAF anti-doping commission, urged those concerned about the issue to "come down and see our programme, come down and see our testing, we have nothing to hide".[108] Mills had been equally ardent that Bolt was a clean athlete, declaring to the Jamaica Gleaner: "We will test any time, any day, any part of the body...[he] doesn't even like to take vitamins".[109] Bolt stated that he had been tested four times prior to the Olympics, and all had tested negative for banned substances. He also welcomed anti-doping authorities to test him to prove that he was clean, stating, "We work hard and we perform well and we know we're clean".[110]
“ | I was slowing down long before the finish and wasn't tired at all. I could have gone back to the start and done it all over again. | ” |
—Usain Bolt's thoughts on his 100m sprint at the 2008 Olympics, published in his autobiography Usain Bolt 9.58[111] |
The end of the 2008 athletics season saw Bolt compete in the ÅF Golden League, beginning in Weltklasse Zürich. Despite having the slowest start among his competitors in the 100 m race, he still crossed the finishing line in 9.83 s.[112] Even though the time was slower than both his newly set world record and Asafa Powell's track record, it was still among the top-fifteen 100 m finishes by any sprinter to that date.[77] Bolt admitted that he was not running at full strength, suffering from a cold, but he had concentrated on both winning the race and finishing the season in good health.[112] At the Super Grand Prix final in Lausanne, Bolt ran his second-fastest 200 m with a time of 19.63 s, equalling Xavier Carter's track record.[113] However, it was the 100 m final, featuring Asafa Powell, that drew the most interest. Powell had moved closer to Bolt's world record after setting a new personal best of 9.72 s, reaffirming his status as Bolt's main contender.[114] Bolt's final event of the season came three days later at the Golden League final in Brussels. This was the first 100 m race featuring both Bolt and Powell since the final in the Olympics. Both Jamaicans broke the track record, but Bolt came out on top with a time of 9.77 s, beating Powell by 0.06 s. Victory, however, did not come as smoothly as it had in Beijing. Bolt made the slowest start of the nine competitors and had to recover ground in cold conditions and against a 0.9 m/s headwind.[115] Yet the results confirmed Jamaican dominance in the 100 m, with nine of the ten-fastest legal times in history being recorded by either Bolt or Powell.[77] On his return to Jamaica, Bolt was honoured in a homecoming celebration and received an Order of Distinction in recognition of his achievements at the Olympics.[116]
He was selected as the IAAF Male Athlete of the year and won a Special Olympic Award for his performances.[117] However, Bolt turned his attention to future events, suggesting that he could aim to break the 400 metres world record in 2010 as no major championships were scheduled that year.[118]
Bolt started the season competing over 400 metres in order to improve his speed, winning two races and registering 45.54 s in Kingston,[119] and windy conditions gave him his first sub-10 second finish of the season in the 100 m in March.[120] In late April Bolt suffered minor leg injuries in a car crash. However, he quickly recovered following minor surgery and (after cancelling a track meet in Jamaica) he stated that he was fit to compete in the 150 metres street race at the Manchester Great City Games.[121] Bolt won the race in 14.35 s, the fastest time ever recorded for 150 m.[122] Despite not being at full fitness, he took the 100 and 200 m titles at the Jamaican national championships, with runs of 9.86 s and 20.25 s respectively.[123][124] This meant he had qualified for both events at the 2009 World Championships. Rival Tyson Gay suggested that Bolt's 100 m record was within his grasp, but Bolt dismissed the claim and instead noted that he was more interested in Asafa Powell's return from injury.[125] Bolt defied unfavourable conditions at the Athletissima meet in July, running 19.59 seconds into a 0.9 m/s headwind and rain, to record the fourth fastest time ever over 200 m,[126] one hundredth off Gay's best time.[127]
At the 2009 World Championships in August, Bolt eased through the 100 m heats, clocking the fastest ever pre-final performance of 9.89 seconds.[128] The final was the first time Bolt and Gay had met in the season, and Bolt improved his world record with a time of 9.58 s to win his first World Championship gold medal. Gay finished with a time of 9.71 s, 0.02 s off Bolt's 9.69 s world-record run in Beijing.[129] Taking over a tenth of a second off the previous best mark, this was the largest ever margin of improvement in the 100 m world record since the beginning of electronic timing.[130]
Although Gay withdrew from the second race of the competition, the Jamaican once again produced world record-breaking form in the 200 metres final. He broke his own record by 0.11 seconds, finishing with a time of 19.19 seconds.[131] He won the 200 m race by the biggest margin in World Championships history, even though the race had three other athletes running under 19.90 seconds, the greatest number ever in the event.[132][133] Bolt's pace impressed even the more experienced of his competitors; third-placed Wallace Spearmon complimented his speed,[134] and former Olympic champion Shawn Crawford said "Just coming out there...I felt like I was in a video game, that guy was moving – fast".[135] Bolt pointed out that an important factor in his performance at the World Championships was his improved start to the races: his reaction times in the 100 m (0.146)[136] and 200 m (0.133)[137] were significantly faster than those he had produced in his world record runs at the Beijing Olympics.[138][139] However, he, together with other members of Jamaican 4x100 m relay team, fell short of their own world record of 37.10 s set at 2008 Summer Olympics by timing 37.31 s, which is, however, a championship record and the second fastest time in history at that date.[140]
On the last day of the Berlin Championships, the governing Mayor of Berlin, Klaus Wowereit, presented Bolt with a 12-foot high section of the Berlin Wall in a small ceremony, saying Bolt had shown that "one can tear down walls that had been considered as insurmountable." The nearly three-ton segment will be delivered to Bolt's training camp in Jamaica.[141]
Several days after Bolt broke the world records in 100 and 200 metres events, Mike Powell, the world record holder in long jump (8.95 metres set in 1991) argued that Bolt could become the first man to jump over 9 metres, the long jump event being "a perfect fit for his speed and height".[142] At the end of the season he was selected as the IAAF World Athlete of the Year for the second year running.[143]
Early on in the 2010 outdoor season, Bolt ran 19.56 seconds in the 200 m in Kingston, Jamaica for the fourth-fastest run of all-time, although he stated that he had no record breaking ambitions for the forthcoming season.[144] He took to the international circuit May with wins in East Asia at the Colorful Daegu Pre-Championships Meeting and then a comfortable win in his 2010 IAAF Diamond League debut at the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix.[145][146] Bolt made an attempt to break Michael Johnson's best time over the rarely competed 300 metres event at the Golden Spike meeting in Ostrava. He failed to match Johnson's ten-year-old record of 30.85 and suffered a setback in that his 30.97-second run in wet weather had left him with an Achilles tendon problem.[147][148]
On his return from injury a month later, he asserted himself with a 100 m win at the Athletissima meeting in Lausanne (9.82 seconds) and a victory over Asafa Powell at Meeting Areva in Paris (9.84 seconds).[149][150] Despite this run of form, he suffered only the second loss of his career in a 100 m final at the DN Galan. Tyson Gay soundly defeated him with a run of 9.84 to Bolt's 9.97 seconds, and the Jamaican reflected that he had slacked off in training early in the season while Gay had been better prepared and in a better condition.[151] This marked Bolt's first loss to Gay over 100 m, which coincidentally occurred in the same stadium where Powell had beaten Bolt for the first time two years earlier.[152]
Considered the overwhelming favourite to win in the 100 metres at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu, Bolt was eliminated from the final for a false start.[153] Usain Bolt's countryman, Yohan Blake won in a season best of 9.92 seconds. In the 200m, Bolt cruised through to the final which he won in a time of 19.40s,[154] the fastest time in history never to be a World Record. Bolt also won gold in 4x100 metres relay with team Jamaica setting a world record time of 37.04.
Bolt expresses a love for dancing and his character is frequently described as laid-back and relaxed.[19][156][dead link][157] Bolt's Jamaican track and field idols include Herb McKenley and former Jamaican 100 m 200 m world record holder, Don Quarrie. Michael Johnson, the former 200 m world and Olympic record holder, is also held in high esteem by Bolt.[19] The first sport to interest him was cricket and he said if he was not a sprinter he would be a fast bowler instead.[19] As a child he was a supporter of the Pakistani cricket team and admired the bowling of Waqar Younis.[158] He is also a fan of Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar, West Indian opener Chris Gayle[159] and Australian opener Matthew Hayden.[160] During a charity cricket match Bolt clean-bowled Chris Gayle. Gayle was complimentary of Bolt's pace and swing.[161] Bolt also struck a six off Chris Gayle's bowling. Another bowler complimentary of Bolt's pace was former West Indies fast-bowling great Curtly Ambrose.[162]
Bolt has also expressed his love for football and is a fan of Manchester United as well as Real Madrid.[163] Bolt has also declared he is a fan of Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy.[164] Following a race in Manchester, he met the team at their training ground and offered Portuguese national Cristiano Ronaldo some sprinting advice.[165] Bolt was a special guest of Manchester United at the 2011 UEFA Champions League final in London, where he stated he'd like to play for them after he retires.[166]
In 2010, he also revealed his fondness of music, when he played a reggae DJ set to a crowd in Paris.[167]
After winning the 200 m title in the 2002 World Junior Championships in Kingston, Jamaica, Bolt signed a sponsorship deal with Puma.[168] To promote Bolt's chase for Olympic glory in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, Puma released a series of videos including Bolt's then-world-record-setting run in Icahn Stadium and his Olympic preparations.[169] After his world record breaking run in New York City, which was preceded by a lightning storm,[170] the press frequently made puns on the Jamaican's name, nicknaming him "Lightning Bolt" and the "Bolt from the blue".[171][172][173][dead link] During the Beijing 2008 100 m final, Bolt wore golden Puma Complete Theseus spikes that had "Beijing 100 m Gold" emblazoned across them.[174] His athletics agent is PACE Sports Management.[175]
In January 2012, Usain Bolt impersonated Richard Branson in a Ad Campaign for Virgin Media.[176] The multi-million pound campaign was directed by Seth Gordon and features Virgin founder Branson to promote its superfast broadband service. In March 2012, he starred in an ad for Visa and the London 2012 olympics.[177]
In 2010, Bolt signed a lucrative publishing deal with HarperCollins for an autobiography, which was negotiated by Chris Nathaniel of NVA Management.[178] This is scheduled for release in 2012. During a press conference in Paris on 15 July 2010, Bolt declined any comment on what would be contained within the book saying, "you can't really give away anything in your book ... should be exciting, it's my life, and I'm a cool and exciting guy".[163]
As a result of Bolt's successes in athletics, he was named the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year for 2009 and 2010.[179][180]
Event | Time (seconds) | Venue | Date | Records | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
100 metres | 9.58 | Berlin, Germany | 16 August 2009 | Also shares the second fastest time of 9.69 with Tyson Gay. Bolt's 9.69 set the Olympic record in 2008. | |
150 metres | 14.35 | Manchester, United Kingdom | 17 May 2009 | World best[5] | He ran the last 100 m in 8.70, the fastest ever recorded time over a 100 m distance. This would equal an average speed of 41.38 km/h. |
200 metres | 19.19 | Berlin, Germany | 20 August 2009 | Also holds the Olympic Record with 19.30, at the time (2008) a new world record. | |
300 metres | 30.97 | Ostrava, Czech Republic | 27 May 2010 | This is the second fastest time, behind Michael Johnson's 30.85. | |
400 metres | 45.28[12] | Kingston, Jamaica | 5 May 2007 | ||
4 × 100 metres relay | 37.04 | Daegu, South Korea | 4 September 2011 | Shared with Yohan Blake, Michael Frater and Nesta Carter. |
Bolt's personal best of 9.58 seconds in the 100 metres is the fastest ever legal time.[77] Bolt also holds the second fastest time of 9.69 seconds (more precisely 9.683),[75] the current Olympic record.[77] Tyson Gay recorded a time of 9.68 s at the 2008 US Olympic Trials, but was aided with a tail wind of 4.1 m/s, exceeding the legal limit of 2.0 m/s set by the IAAF and nullifying its inclusion as a world record.[182] Obadele Thompson's run of 9.69 s in 1996 is also not recognised as it was aided by a 5.0 m/s tail wind.[77]
Bolt's personal best of 19.19 s in the 200 metres is the world record. This was recorded at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics in Berlin against a headwind of −0.3 m/s. He has also broken the Olympic record with a time of 19.30 s (more precisely 19.296 s)[183]
The Jamaican relay team including Bolt, set the 4x100 metres world and Olympic records at the 2008 Olympics with a time of 37.10 seconds. This is the only run in the IAAF top ten performances which was not set by an American team.[184]
Bolt also holds the 200 metres world teenage best results for the age categories 15 (20.58 s), 16 (20.13 s, world youth record), 17 (19.93 s) and 18 (19.93 s, world junior record).[75] He also holds the 150 metres world best set in 2009, during which he ran the last 100 metres in 8.70 seconds, the quickest timed 100 metres ever.[75]
From his record time of 9.58 s for the 100 m sprint Usain Bolt's average ground speed equates to: 37.58 km/h or 23.35 mph. However, once his reaction time of 0.15 s is subtracted, his time is closer to 9.43 s, making his average speed closer to 38.18 km/h or 23.72 mph.[185]
Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2002 | World Junior Championships | Kingston, Jamaica | 1st | 200 m | 20.61 |
2nd | 4×100 m relay | 39.15 NJR | |||
2nd | 4×400 m relay | 3:04.06 NJR | |||
2003 | World Youth Championships | Sherbrooke, Canada | 1st | 200 m | 20.40 |
2003 | Pan American Junior Championships | Bridgetown, Barbados | 1st | 200 m | 20.13 WYB |
2nd | 4×100 m relay | 39.40 | |||
2004 | CARIFTA Games | Hamilton, Bermuda | 1st | 200 m | 19.93 WJR |
2005 | Central American and Caribbean Championships | Nassau, Bahamas | 1st | 200 m | 20.03 |
2006 | World Athletics Final | Stuttgart, Germany | 3rd | 200 m | 20.10 |
2006 | IAAF World Cup | Athens, Greece | 2nd | 200 m | 19.96 |
2007 | World Championships | Osaka, Japan | 2nd | 200 metres | 19.91 |
2008 | Reebok Grand Prix | New York City, United States | 1st | 100 m | 9.72 WR |
2008 | Olympic Games | Beijing, China | 1st | 100 metres | 9.69 WR OR |
1st | 200 metres | 19.30 WR OR | |||
1st | 4×100 metres relay | 37.10 WR OR | |||
2009 | World Championships | Berlin, Germany | 1st | 100 metres | 9.58 WR |
1st | 200 metres | 19.19 WR | |||
1st | 4×100 metres relay | 37.31 CR | |||
2011 | World Championships | Daegu, South Korea | |||
1st | 200 metres | 19.40 WL | |||
1st | 4×100 metres relay | 37.04 WR |
Wikinews has related news: Usain Bolt sets new world record in 100m sprint |
Wikinews has related news: Usain Bolt to run 150 metre race in Manchester |
Records | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by Asafa Powell |
Men's 100 metres World Record Holder 31 May 2008 – |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
Preceded by Michael Johnson |
Men's 200 metres World Record Holder 20 August 2008 – |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
Awards | ||
Preceded by Asafa Powell Christopher Gayle |
Jamaica Sportsman of the Year 2008, 2009 2011 |
Succeeded by Christopher Gayle Incumbent |
Preceded by Asafa Powell |
CAC Male Athlete of the Year 2008 |
Incumbent |
Preceded by Tyson Gay |
Men's Track & Field Athlete of the Year 2008, 2009 |
Succeeded by David Rudisha |
Preceded by Tyson Gay David Rudisha |
IAAF World Athlete of the Year 2008, 2009 2011 |
Succeeded by David Rudisha Incumbent |
Preceded by Roger Federer |
BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year 2008, 2009 |
Succeeded by Rafael Nadal |
L'Équipe Champion of Champions 2008, 2009 |
||
Laureus World Sportsman of the Year 2009, 2010 |
||
Preceded by Tyson Gay |
Best Track and Field Athlete ESPY Award 2009 |
Succeeded by Tyson Gay |
Achievements | ||
Preceded by Asafa Powell |
Men's season's best performance, 100 metres 2008, 2009 |
Succeeded by Tyson Gay |
Preceded by Tyson Gay |
Men's season's best performance, 200 metres 2008, 2009, 2010 |
Succeeded by Yohan Blake |
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Persondata | |
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Name | Bolt, Usain |
Alternative names | |
Short description | Jamaican athlete |
Date of birth | 21 August 1986 |
Place of birth | Trelawny, Jamaica |
Date of death | |
Place of death |
I played tag in the auto graveyard
I looked up at the radio tower
Rag tent by the railroad tracks
Concrete poured over steel bridge
Pondered my fate
While they built the interstate
I'm a product of America
From the morgue to the prisons
Cold metal, when I start my band
Cold metal, in my garbage can
Cold metal, gets in my blood
And my attitude
Yeah, a huh
Threw my hide in an automobile
Heard a song called "Drive the wheel"
Truckers, trailers, tractors caught me workin'
This is the song of my heritage
From the bad to the Buddha
Cold metal, that's what it be
Cold metal, from sea to sea
Cold metal, it's how we win
And also how we sin
How we sin, how we sin, how we sin, how we sin
Cold metal, in the afternoon
Sounds lovely like a Hendrix tune
Cold metal, it's the father of beat
The mother of the street
Cold metal, it rolls on by
Cold metal, gonna raise it high
Cold metal, it'll even fly
Rust buckets in the sky
Cold metal, got to be
Skeleton of the free
Cold metal, it's gotta be
Better save a tree
Save a tree, save a tree, save a tree, save a tree
Where are you, my angel?
It's cold in this dead world
Where are your dark long hair?
Where have you fallen?
You fallen?
[Chorus:]
Among dark paths and tombs I roam
Why haven't you returned?
Again - my soul longs for her home
But tonight it's still cold
Where are you, my angel?
I've lost my way
For you I raise this song
I watched you flying
I'm bleeding
[Chorus:]
Among dark paths and tombs I roam
Why haven't you returned?
Again - my soul longs for her home
Lying on my back on a railway
Looking at the sky and its full moon
In the back of my head I feel the rumbling wheels
Shaking my memories
It's getting darker and darker and darker
My hands are frozen and steam comes out of my mouth
As I whisper my last words
Seem to fade away
[Chorus:]
The train is moving forward and closer
Can't stand up and walk away
Once I made my mind up so long ago
Now I can't change
It is just too bad
I feel so left alone, so forgotten
Nobody knows where I am, no one misses me
Cold water runs from my eyes
And the cold is freezing my last tears
Like I'm only half in my body, I can't feel
I think I'm already half gone, I can't think
It's getting colder and colder and colder
I can't breathe
[Chorus:]
Cold metal - burning in my back
Cold cold metal - freezing
Cold cold metal - my head will burst open