Athletes leaving starting blocks for a 200 metres race (2010 Josef Odložil Memorial in Prague)

A 200 metres race is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 m track, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques are needed to successfully run the race. A slightly shorter race, called the stadion and run on a straight track, was the first recorded event at the Ancient Olympics. The 200 m places more emphasis on speed endurance than shorter sprint distances as athletes rely on different energy systems during the longer sprint.

In the United States and elsewhere, athletes previously ran the 220-yard dash (201.168 m) instead of the 200 m, though the distance is now obsolete. The standard adjustment used for the conversion from times recorded over 220 yards to 200 m times is to subtract 0.1 seconds,^[1] but other conversion methods exist.

The race attracts runners from other events wishing to double up and claim both titles. This feat has been achieved nine times at the Olympic Games, most recently by Jamaica's Usain Bolt in 2008. An Olympic double of 200 m and 400 m was first achieved by Valerie Brisco-Hooks in 1984, and later by Michael Johnson from the United States and Marie-José Pérec of France both in 1996.

The men's world record holder is Usain Bolt, who ran 19.19 s at the 2009 World Championships. The women's world record holder is Florence Griffith-Joyner of the United States, who ran 21.34 s at the 1988 Summer Olympics. The reigning Olympic champions are Usain Bolt and Veronica Campbell-Brown.

The 200 metres is an event subject to the Wind assistance rules. Races run with an aiding wind measured over 2.0 metres per second are not acceptable for record purposes.

All-time fastest 200 m athletes[link]

Only the fastest time for each athlete is listed.

Men[link]

As of September 2011.^[2]

Rank	Res.	Wind	Athlete	Nation	Date	Location
1.	19.19	−0.3	Usain Bolt	Jamaica	20 August 2009	Berlin
2.	19.26	+0.7	Yohan Blake	Jamaica	16 September 2011	Brussels
3.	19.32	+0.4	Michael Johnson	United States	1 August 1996	Atlanta
4.	19.53	+0.7	Walter Dix	United States	16 September 2011	Brussels
5.	19.58	+1.3	Tyson Gay	United States	30 May 2009	New York City
6.	19.63	+0.4	Xavier Carter	United States	11 July 2006	Lausanne
7.	19.65	0.0	Wallace Spearmon	United States	28 September 2006	Daegu
8.	19.68	+0.4	Frankie Fredericks	Namibia	1 August 1996	Atlanta
9.	19.72	+1.8	Pietro Mennea	Italy	12 September 1979	Mexico City
10.	19.73	−0.2	Michael Marsh	United States	5 August 1992	Barcelona

Women[link]

As of April 2010.

Rank	Res.	Wind	Athlete	Nation	Date	Location
1.	21.34	+1.3	Florence Griffith-Joyner	United States	29 September 1988	Seoul
2.	21.62	−0.6	Marion Jones	United States	11 September 1998	Johannesburg
3.	21.64	+0.8	Merlene Ottey	Jamaica	13 September 1991	Brussels
4.	21.71	+0.7	Marita Koch	East Germany	10 June 1979	Karl-Marx-Stadt
		+1.2	Heike Drechsler	East Germany	29 June 1986	Jena
6.	21.72	+1.3	Grace Jackson	Jamaica	29 September 1988	Seoul
		−0.1	Gwen Torrence	United States	15 August 1992	Barcelona
8.	21.74	+0.4	Marlies Göhr	East Germany	3 June 1984	Erfurt
		+1.2	Silke Gladisch-Möller	East Germany	3 September 1987	Rome
		−0.6	Veronica Campbell-Brown	Jamaica	21 August 2008	Beijing

Olympic medalists[link]

Men[link]

Games	Gold	Silver	Bronze
1900 Paris	Walter Tewksbury (USA)	Norman Pritchard (IND)	Stan Rowley (AUS)
1904 St. Louis	Archie Hahn (USA)	Nate Cartmell (USA)	William Hogenson (USA)
1908 London	Robert Kerr (CAN)	Robert Cloughen (USA)	Nate Cartmell (USA)
1912 Stockholm	Ralph Craig (USA)	Donald Lippincott (USA)	Willie Applegarth (GBR)
1920 Antwerp	Allen Woodring (USA)	Charlie Paddock (USA)	Harry Edward (GBR)
1924 Paris	Jackson Scholz (USA)	Charlie Paddock (USA)	Eric Liddell (GBR)
1928 Amsterdam	Percy Williams (CAN)	Walter Rangeley (GBR)	Helmut Körnig (GER)
1932 Los Angeles	Eddie Tolan (USA)	George Simpson (USA)	Ralph Metcalfe (USA)
1936 Berlin	Jesse Owens (USA)	Mack Robinson (USA)	Tinus Osendarp (NED)
1948 London	Mel Patton (USA)	Barney Ewell (USA)	Lloyd LaBeach (PAN)
1952 Helsinki	Andy Stanfield (USA)	Thane Baker (USA)	James Gathers (USA)
1956 Melbourne	Bobby Morrow (USA)	Andy Stanfield (USA)	Thane Baker (USA)
1960 Rome	Livio Berruti (ITA)	Lester Carney (USA)	Abdoulaye Seye (FRA)
1964 Tokyo	Henry Carr (USA)	Paul Drayton (USA)	Edwin Roberts (TRI)
1968 Mexico City	Tommie Smith (USA)	Peter Norman (AUS)	John Carlos (USA)
1972 Munich	22x20px Valeriy Borzov (URS)	Larry Black (USA)	Pietro Mennea (ITA)
1976 Montreal	Don Quarrie (JAM)	Millard Hampton (USA)	Dwayne Evans (USA)
1980 Moscow	Pietro Mennea (ITA)	Allan Wells (GBR)	Don Quarrie (JAM)
1984 Los Angeles	Carl Lewis (USA)	Kirk Baptiste (USA)	Thomas Jefferson (USA)
1988 Seoul	Joe DeLoach (USA)	Carl Lewis (USA)	Robson da Silva (BRA)
1992 Barcelona	Michael Marsh (USA)	Frankie Fredericks (NAM)	Michael Bates (USA)
1996 Atlanta	Michael Johnson (USA)	Frankie Fredericks (NAM)	Ato Boldon (TRI)
2000 Sydney	Konstantinos Kenteris (GRE)	Darren Campbell (GBR)	Ato Boldon (TRI)
2004 Athens	Shawn Crawford (USA)	Bernard Williams (USA)	Justin Gatlin (USA)
2008 Beijing	Usain Bolt (JAM)	Shawn Crawford (USA)	Walter Dix (USA)

Women[link]

Games	Gold	Silver	Bronze
1948 London	Fanny Blankers-Koen (NED)	Audrey Williamson (GBR)	Audrey Patterson (USA)
1952 Helsinki	Marjorie Jackson (AUS)	Bertha Brouwer (NED)	22x20px Nadezhda Khnykina (URS)
1956 Melbourne	Betty Cuthbert (AUS)	Christa Stubnick (EUA)	Marlene Mathews (AUS)
1960 Rome	Wilma Rudolph (USA)	Jutta Heine (EUA)	Dorothy Hyman (GBR)
1964 Tokyo	Edith McGuire (USA)	Irena Kirszenstein (POL)	Marilyn Black (AUS)
1968 Mexico City	Irena Szewińska (POL)	Raelene Boyle (AUS)	Jenny Lamy (AUS)
1972 Munich	Renate Stecher (GDR)	Raelene Boyle (AUS)	Irena Szewińska (POL)
1976 Montreal	Bärbel Eckert (GDR)	Annegret Richter (FRG)	Renate Stecher (GDR)
1980 Moscow	Bärbel Wöckel (GDR)	22x20px Natalya Bochina (URS)	Merlene Ottey (JAM)
1984 Los Angeles	Valerie Brisco-Hooks (USA)	Florence Griffith (USA)	Merlene Ottey (JAM)
1988 Seoul	Florence Griffith-Joyner (USA)	Grace Jackson (JAM)	Heike Drechsler (GDR)
1992 Barcelona	Gwen Torrence (USA)	Juliet Cuthbert (JAM)	Merlene Ottey (JAM)
1996 Atlanta	Marie-José Pérec (FRA)	Merlene Ottey (JAM)	Mary Onyali (NGR)
2000 Sydney	Pauline Davis-Thompson (BAH)	Susanthika Jayasinghe (SRI)	Beverly McDonald (JAM)
2004 Athens	Veronica Campbell (JAM)	Allyson Felix (USA)	Debbie Ferguson (BAH)
2008 Beijing	Veronica Campbell (JAM)	Allyson Felix (USA)	Kerron Stewart (JAM)

World Championship medalists[link]

Men[link]

Championships	Gold	Silver	Bronze
1983 Helsinki	Calvin Smith (USA)	Elliott Quow (USA)	Pietro Mennea (ITA)
1987 Rome	Calvin Smith (USA)	Gilles Quénéhervé (FRA)	John Regis (GBR)
1991 Tokyo	Michael Johnson (USA)	Frankie Fredericks (NAM)	Atlee Mahorn (CAN)
1993 Stuttgart	Frankie Fredericks (NAM)	John Regis (GBR)	Carl Lewis (USA)
1995 Gothenburg	Michael Johnson (USA)	Frankie Fredericks (NAM)	Jeff Williams (USA)
1997 Athens	Ato Boldon (TRI)	Frankie Fredericks (NAM)	Claudinei da Silva (BRA)
1999 Seville	Maurice Greene (USA)	Claudinei da Silva (BRA)	Francis Obikwelu (NGR)
2001 Edmonton	Konstantinos Kenteris (GRE)	Christopher Williams (JAM)	Shawn Crawford (USA)
2003 Paris	John Capel (USA)	Darvis Patton (USA)	Shingo Suetsugu (JPN)
2005 Helsinki	Justin Gatlin (USA)	Wallace Spearmon (USA)	John Capel (USA)
2007 Osaka	Tyson Gay (USA)	Usain Bolt (JAM)	Wallace Spearmon (USA)
2009 Berlin	Usain Bolt (JAM)	Alonso Edward (PAN)	Wallace Spearmon (USA)
2011 Daegu	Usain Bolt (JAM)	Walter Dix (USA)	Christophe Lemaitre (FRA)

Women[link]

Championships	Gold	Silver	Bronze
1983 Helsinki	Marita Koch (GDR))	Merlene Ottey (JAM)	Kathy Smallwood-Cook (GBR)
1987 Rome	Silke Gladisch (GDR)	Florence Griffith-Joyner (USA)	Merlene Ottey (JAM)
1991 Tokyo	Katrin Krabbe (GER)	Gwen Torrence (USA)	Merlene Ottey (JAM)
1993 Stuttgart	Merlene Ottey (JAM)	Gwen Torrence (USA)	Irina Privalova (RUS)
1995 Gothenburg	Merlene Ottey (JAM)	Irina Privalova (RUS)	Galina Malchugina (RUS)
1997 Athens	Zhanna Pintusevich-Block (UKR)	Susanthika Jayasinghe (SRI)	Merlene Ottey (JAM)
1999 Seville	Inger Miller (USA)	Beverly McDonald (JAM)	Merlene Frazer (JAM)  Andrea Philipp (GER)
2001 Edmonton	Debbie Ferguson (BAH)	LaTasha Jenkins (USA)	Cydonie Mothersille (CAY)
2003 Paris	Anastasiya Kapachinskaya (RUS)	Torri Edwards (USA)	Muriel Hurtis (FRA)
2005 Helsinki	Allyson Felix (USA)	Rachelle Boone-Smith (USA)	Christine Arron (FRA)
2007 Osaka	Allyson Felix (USA)	Veronica Campbell-Brown (JAM)	Susanthika Jayasinghe (SRI)
2009 Berlin	Allyson Felix (USA)	Veronica Campbell-Brown (JAM)	Debbie Ferguson (BAH)
2011 Daegu	Veronica Campbell-Brown (JAM)	Carmelita Jeter (USA)	Allyson Felix (USA)

References[link]

External links[link]

• All time 200m men records

Usain Bolt

Bolt at Berlin World Championships 2009
Personal information
Nickname(s)	Lightning Bolt
Nationality	Jamaican
Born	(1986-08-21) 21 August 1986 (age 25)[1] Trelawny, Jamaica[2]
Residence	Kingston, Jamaica
Height	1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)[3]
Weight	92 kg (200 lb)[3]
Sport
Sport	Track and field
Event(s)	Sprints
Club	Racers Track Club
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	100 m: 9.58 WR (Berlin 2009)[4] 150 m: 14.35 WB[5] (Manchester 2009)[6] 200 m: 19.19 WR (Berlin 2009)[7] 400 m: 45.28 (Kingston 2007)[1]
Medal record Men's athletics Competitor for  Jamaica Olympic Games Gold 2008 Beijing 100 m Gold 2008 Beijing 200 m Gold 2008 Beijing 4×100 m relay World Championships Gold 2011 Daegu 200 m Gold 2011 Daegu 4×100 m relay Gold 2009 Berlin 100 m Gold 2009 Berlin 200 m Gold 2009 Berlin 4×100 m relay Silver 2007 Osaka 200 m Silver 2007 Osaka 4×100 m relay World Athletics Final Gold 2009 Thessaloniki 200 m CAC Championships Gold 2005 Nassau 200 m World Junior Championships Gold 2002 Kingston Silver 2002 Kingston 4×100 m relay Silver 2002 Kingston 4×400 m relay Pan American Junior Championships Gold 2003 Bridgetown 200 m Silver 2003 Bridgetown 4×100 m relay CARIFTA Games (Junior) Gold 2004 Hamilton 200 m Gold 2004 Hamilton 4×100 m relay Gold 2004 Hamilton 4×400 m relay Gold 2003 Port of Spain 200 m Gold 2003 Port of Spain 400 m Gold 2003 Port of Spain 4×100 m relay Gold 2003 Port of Spain 4×400 m relay World Youth Championships Gold 2003 Sherbrooke 200 m CAC Junior Championships (Youth) Gold 2002 Bridgetown 200 m Gold 2002 Bridgetown 400 m Gold 2002 Bridgetown 4×100 m relay Gold 2002 Bridgetown 4×400 m relay CARIFTA Games (Youth) Gold 2002 Nassau 200 m Gold 2002 Nassau 400 m Gold 2002 Nassau 4×400 m relay Silver 2001 Bridgetown 200m Silver 2001 Bridgetown 400m Competitor for the Americas World Cup Silver 2006 Athens 200 m

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.

Early years[link]

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]

Early competitions[link]

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]

Rise to prominence[link]

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]

Professional athletics career[link]

Early Professional Career (2004 – 2007)[link]

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]

Bolt at the Crystal Palace Meeting in 2007

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]

Bolt (second from left) behind Gay in the closing stages of the 200 m race

Bolt (left) on the podium with his silver medal from the 200 m race in Osaka (2007)

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]

World-record breaker[link]

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]

Bolt preparing ahead of a race at the 2007 Osaka World Championships

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]

2008 Summer Olympics[link]

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]

Bolt held a considerable lead over his rivals in the closing stages of the 100 m final.

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]