Usain Bolt
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The Honourable
Usain Bolt
OJ CD OLY
Bolt at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Personal information
Full name Usain St. Leo Bolt
Nickname Lightning Bolt[1]
Born 21 August 1986 (age 37)
Sherwood Content, Jamaica
Height 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)[2]
Weight 94 kg (207 lb)[3]
Sport
Sport Track and field
Event Sprints
Club Racers Track Club
Coached by Glen Mills[4]
Retired 2017[5]
Achievements and titles
Personal bests
40 yd: 4.22 (Atlanta, 2019)[6][note 1]
100 m: 9.58 WR (Berlin 2009)[7]
150 m: 14.35 WB[note 2]
(Manchester 2009)[8]
200 m: 19.19 WR (Berlin 2009)[9]
300 m: 30.97 NR (Ostrava 2010)[10]
400 m: 45.28 (Kingston 2007)[10]
800 m: 2:05[11]
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing Jamaica
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 8 0 0
World Championships 11 2 1
World Relays 0 1 0
CAC Championships 1 0 0
Commonwealth Games 1 0 0
World Junior Championships 1 2 0
World Youth Championships 1 0 0
Total 23 5 1
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
100 m 6 0 1
200 m 10 1 0
4×100 m relay 7 3 0
4×400 m relay 0 1 0
Total 23 5 1
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2008 Beijing 100 m
Gold medal – first place 2008 Beijing 200 m
Gold medal – first place 2012 London 100 m
Gold medal – first place 2012 London 200 m
Gold medal – first place 2012 London 4×100 m relay
Gold medal – first place 2016 Rio de Janeiro 100 m
Gold medal – first place 2016 Rio de Janeiro 200 m
Gold medal – first place 2016 Rio de Janeiro 4×100 m relay
Disqualified 2008 Beijing 4×100 m relay
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2009 Berlin 100 m
Gold medal – first place 2009 Berlin 200 m
Gold medal – first place 2009 Berlin 4×100 m relay
Gold medal – first place 2011 Daegu 200 m
Gold medal – first place 2011 Daegu 4×100 m relay
Gold medal – first place 2013 Moscow 100 m
Gold medal – first place 2013 Moscow 200 m
Gold medal – first place 2013 Moscow 4×100 m relay
Gold medal – first place 2015 Beijing 100 m
Gold medal – first place 2015 Beijing 200 m
Gold medal – first place 2015 Beijing 4×100 m relay
Silver medal – second place 2007 Osaka 200 m
Silver medal – second place 2007 Osaka 4×100 m relay
Bronze medal – third place 2017 London 100 m
World Athletics Relays
Silver medal – second place 2015 Nassau 4×100 m relay
Diamond League
Winner 2012 100 metres
CAC Championships
Gold medal – first place 2005 Nassau 200 m
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 2014 Glasgow 4×100 m relay
World Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place 2002 Kingston 200 m
Silver medal – second place 2002 Kingston 4×100 m relay
Silver medal – second place 2002 Kingston 4×400 m relay
World Youth Championships
Gold medal – first place 2003 Sherbrooke 200 m
Pan American Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place 2003 Bridgetown 200 m
Silver medal – second place 2003 Bridgetown 4×100 m relay
CAC Junior Championships (U17)
Gold medal – first place 2002 Bridgetown 200 m
Gold medal – first place 2002 Bridgetown 400 m
Gold medal – first place 2002 Bridgetown 4×100 m relay
Gold medal – first place 2002 Bridgetown 4×400 m relay
CARIFTA Games
Junior (U20)
Gold medal – first place 2003 Port of Spain 200 m
Gold medal – first place 2003 Port of Spain 400 m
Gold medal – first place 2003 Port of Spain 4x100 m relay
Gold medal – first place 2003 Port of Spain 4x400 m relay
Gold medal – first place 2004 Hamilton 200 m
Gold medal – first place 2004 Hamilton 4x100 m relay
Gold medal – first place 2004 Hamilton 4x400 m relay
CARIFTA Games
Junior (U17)
Gold medal – first place 2002 Nassau 200m
Gold medal – first place 2002 Nassau 400m
Gold medal – first place 2002 Nassau 4x100 m relay
Gold medal – first place 2002 Nassau 4x400 m relay
Silver medal – second place 2001 Bridgetown 200m
Silver medal – second place 2001 Bridgetown 400m
Silver medal – second place 2001 Bridgetown 4x100 m relay
Representing Americas
World Cup
Silver medal – second place 2006 Athens 200 m
Usain St. Leo Bolt OJ CD OLY (/ˈjuːseɪn/;[12] born 21 August 1986) is a Jamaican retired sprinter, widely considered to be the greatest sprinter of all time.[13][14][15] He is the world record holder in the 100 metres, 200 metres, and 4 × 100 metres relay.
An eight-time Olympic gold medallist, Bolt is the only sprinter to win Olympic 100 m and 200 m titles at three consecutive Olympics (2008, 2012, and 2016). He also won two 4 × 100 relay gold medals. He gained worldwide fame for his double sprint victory in world record times at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which made him the first person to hold both records since fully automatic time became mandatory.
An eleven-time World Champion, he won consecutive World Championship 100 m, 200 m and 4 × 100 metres relay gold medals from 2009 to 2015, with the exception of a 100 m false start in 2011. He is the most successful male athlete of the World Championships. Bolt is the first athlete to win four World Championship titles in the 200 m and is one of the most successful in the 100 m with three titles, being the first person to run sub-9.7s and sub-9.6s.
Bolt improved upon his second 100 m world record of 9.69 with 9.58 seconds in 2009 – the biggest improvement since the start of electronic timing. He has twice broken the 200 metres world record, setting 19.30 in 2008 and 19.19 in 2009. He has helped Jamaica to three 4 × 100 metres relay world records, with the current record being 36.84 seconds set in 2012. Bolt's most successful event is the 200 m, with three Olympic and four World titles. The 2008 Olympics was his international debut over 100 m; he had earlier won numerous 200 m medals (including 2007 World Championship silver) and held the world under-20 and world under-18 records for the event until being surpassed by Erriyon Knighton in 2021.
His achievements as a sprinter have earned him the media nickname "Lightning Bolt", and his awards include the IAAF World Athlete of the Year, Track & Field Athlete of the Year, BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year (three times), and Laureus World Sportsman of the Year (four times). Bolt was included in Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People of 2016.[16] Bolt retired after the 2017 World Championships, when he finished third in his last solo 100 m race, opted out of the 200 m, and pulled up injured in the 4×100 m relay final.
Early years
Bolt was born on 21 August 1986 to parents Wellesley and Jennifer Bolt[10] in Sherwood Content,[17] a small town in Jamaica. Jennifer named her son Usain at the suggestion of her nephew-in-law, who suggested the name as he had a classmate of that name, while Bolt's middle name, St Leo, was given to him by his aunt.[18] He has a brother, Sadiki,[19] and a sister, Sherine.[20][21] 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,[22] later saying, "When I was young, I didn't really think about anything other than sports."[23] As a child, Bolt attended Waldensia Primary, where he began showing his sprint potential when he ran in his parish's annual national primary school meet.[1] By the age of twelve, Bolt had become the school's fastest runner over the 100 metres distance.[24] Bolt also developed an affection for European football teams Real Madrid and Manchester United.[15]
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.[25] Pablo McNeil, a former Olympic sprint athlete,[26] and Dwayne Jarrett coached Bolt,[27] 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.[1] Bolt won his first annual high school championships medal in 2001; he took the silver medal in the 200 metres with a time of 22.04 seconds.[1] 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 penchant for practical jokes.[26]
When Bolt was a boy, he attended Sherwood Content Seventh-day Adventist Church in Trelawny, Jamaica, with his mother. His mother did not serve pork to him in accordance with Adventist beliefs.[28]
Early competitions
Representing Jamaica in his first Caribbean regional event, Bolt clocked a personal best time 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.[29]
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.[30] 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.[26] 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.[29] He continued to set records with 20.61 s and 47.12 s finishes at the Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships.[31]
Bolt is one of only nine athletes (along with Valerie Adams, Veronica Campbell-Brown, Jacques Freitag, Yelena Isinbayeva, Jana Pittman, Dani Samuels, David Storl, and Kirani James) to win world championships at the youth, junior, and senior level of an athletic event. 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.[26]
Rise to prominence
The 2002 World Junior Championships were held in front of a home crowd in Kingston, Jamaica, and Bolt was given a chance to prove his credentials on a world stage. By the age of 15, he had grown to 1.96 metres (6 ft 5 in) tall, and he physically stood out among his peers.[1] He won the 200 m in a time of 20.61 s,[32] which was 0.03 s slower than his personal best of 20.58 s, which he set in the 1st round.[33] Bolt's 200 m win made him the youngest world-junior gold medallist ever.[34] The expectation from the home crowd had made him so nervous that he had put his shoes on the wrong feet, although he realized the mistake before the race began.[35] 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.[36] 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.[37][38]
The rush of medals continued as he won four golds at the 2003 CARIFTA Games and was awarded the Austin Sealy Trophy for the most outstanding athlete of the games.[39][40][41] 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 (4.0 km/h; 2.5 mph) head wind.[42] 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".[43] Bolt had also impressed the athletics hierarchy, and he received the IAAF Rising Star Award for 2002.[44]
Bolt competed in his final Jamaican High School Championships in 2003. He broke the 200 m and 400 m records with times of 20.25 s and 45.35 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.[1] Bolt improved upon the 200 m time three months later, setting the former World youth best at the 2003 Pan American Junior Championships.[45] The 400 m time remains No. 6 on the all-time youth list, surpassed only once since, by future Olympic champion Kirani James.[46]
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.[1][47] 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.[43]
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".[43] 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.[48]
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.[1] He beat all comers at the 200 m in the World Championship trials. Bolt 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.[43][49] However, he suffered a bout of conjunctivitis before the event, and it ruined his training schedule.[1] Realising that 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.[49] 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.[44][50]
Professional athletics career
2004–2007 Early career
Bolt at the Crystal Palace Meeting in 2007
Under the guidance of new coach Fitz Coleman, Bolt turned professional in 2004, beginning with the CARIFTA Games in Bermuda.[1] 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.[1][34] 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][40][51] 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.[52] 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.[10][53] American colleges offered Bolt track scholarships to train in the United States while continuing to represent Jamaica on the international stage, but the teenager from Trelawny refused them all, stating that he was content to stay in his homeland of Jamaica.[21] Bolt instead chose the surroundings of the University of Technology, Jamaica, as his professional training ground, staying with the university's track and weight room that had served him well in his amateur years.[54]
The year 2005 signalled a fresh start for Bolt in the form of a new coach, Glen Mills, and a new attitude toward athletics. Mills recognised Bolt's potential and aimed to cease what he considered an unprofessional approach to the sport.[53] Bolt began training with Mills in preparation for the upcoming athletics season, partnering with more seasoned sprinters such as Kim Collins and Dwain Chambers.[55] 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,[56] then registered his 200 m season's best at London's Crystal Palace, running in 19.99 s.[10]
Bolt trailing behind Gay in the closing stages of the 200 m race, 2007
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".[57] 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.[53][58] 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.[59] However, his appearance made him the youngest ever person to appear in a 200 m world final.[60] Bolt was involved in a car accident in November, and although he suffered only minor facial lacerations, his training schedule was further upset.[61][62] His manager at the time, Norman Peart, made Bolt's training less intensive, and he had fully recuperated the following week.[61] Bolt had continued to improve his performances, and he reached the world top-5 rankings in 2005 and 2006.[1] 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.[61][63] 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.[64] 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.[59]
The 200 m remained Bolt's primary event when he returned to competition; he bested 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.[65] 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.[66] 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.[65]
Bolt (left) on the podium with his silver medal from the 200 m race in Osaka (2007). Winner: Tyson Gay in the center.
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.[10] The IAAF World Cup in Athens, Greece, yielded Bolt's first senior international silver medal.[10] 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.[67] Further 200 m honours on both the regional and international stages awaited Bolt in 2007. He yearned to run in the 100 metres but Mills was skeptical, believing that Bolt was better suited for middle distances. The coach cited the runner's difficulty in smoothly starting out of the blocks and poor habits such as looking back at opponents in sprints. Mills told Bolt that he could run the shorter distance if he broke the 200 m national record.[53] 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.[1][21]
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, he won the gold medal in a time of 10.03 s, feeding his enthusiasm for the event.[21][68]
He built on this achievement at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, Japan, winning a silver medal.[10] Bolt recorded 19.91 s with a headwind of 0.8 m/s (2.9 km/h; 1.8 mph). The race was won by Tyson Gay in 19.76 s, a new championship record.[69]
Bolt was a member of the silver medal relay team with Asafa Powell, Marvin Anderson, and Nesta Carter in the 4×100 metres relay. Jamaica set a national record of 37.89 s.[70] 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.[53]
World-record breaker
The silver medals from the 2007 Osaka World Championships boosted Bolt's desire to sprint, and he took a more serious, more mature stance towards his career.[25] Bolt continued to develop in the 100 m, and he decided to compete in the event at the Jamaica Invitational in Kingston. On 3 May 2008, Bolt ran a time of 9.76 s, with a 1.8 m/s (6.5 km/h; 4.0 mph) tail wind, improving his personal best from 10.03 s.[71] 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.[72] Rival Tyson Gay lauded the performance, especially praising Bolt's form and technique.[73] Michael Johnson observed the race and said that he was shocked at how quickly Bolt had improved over the 100 m distance.[74] The Jamaican surprised even himself with the time, but coach Glen Mills remained confident that there was more to come.[73]
On 31 May 2008, Bolt set a new 100 m world record at the Reebok Grand Prix in the Icahn Stadium in New York City. He ran 9.72s with a tail wind of 1.7 m/s (6.1 km/h; 3.8 mph).[75] This race was Bolt's fifth senior 100 m.[76] Gay again finished second and said of Bolt: "It looked like his knees were going past my face."[21] Commentators noted that Bolt appeared to have gained a psychological advantage over fellow Olympic contender Gay.[53]
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; he chose not to make an effort to train for that particular distance.[77] Turning his efforts to the 200 m, Bolt proved that he could excel in two 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.[78][79] 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.[21][80][81]
2008 Summer Olympics
Bolt doubled-up with the 100 metres and 200 metres events at the Beijing Summer Olympics. As the new 100 m world-record holder, he was the favourite to win both races.[82][83] 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.[84] Bolt qualified for the 100 m final with times of 9.92 s and 9.85 s in the quarter-finals and semi-finals, respectively.[85][86][87]
"And a fair start, Asafa Powell, Usain Bolt is also out well. Here they come down the track. USAIN BOLT! SPRINTING AHEAD, WINNING BY DAYLIGHT!"
—Tom Hammond, NBC Sports, with the call for the men's 100 metres final at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
In the Olympic 100 m final (16 August), Bolt broke new ground, winning in 9.69 s (unofficially 9.683 s) with a reaction time of 0.165 s.[88] 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.[89] Not only was the record set with no favourable wind (0.0 m/s), but he also visibly slowed down to celebrate before he finished and his shoelace was untied.[90][91][92] 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.[93] 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.[94][95]
Bolt stated that setting a world 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.[96] Olympic medallist Kriss Akabusi construed Bolt's chest slapping before the finish line as showboating, noting that the actions cost Bolt an even faster record time.[97] IOC president Jacques Rogge also condemned the Jamaican's actions as disrespectful.[98][99] 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".[100] 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".[101]
Bolt doing the "Lightning Bolt" just before breaking the 200 m world record in the Beijing National Stadium
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.[102] 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.[103] Bolt eased through the first and second rounds of the 200 m, jogging towards the end of his run both times.[104] He won his semi-final and progressed to the final as the favourite to win.[105] Retired Jamaican sprinter Don Quarrie praised Bolt, saying he was confident that Johnson's record could be beaten.[44] 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.[106] Johnson's record fell despite the fact that Bolt was impeded by a 0.9 m/s (3.2 km/h; 2.0 mph) headwind. The feat made him the first sprinter since Quarrie to hold both 100 m and 200 m world records simultaneously and the first to hold both records since the introduction of electronic timing.[106][107] Furthermore, Bolt became the first sprinter to break both records at the same Olympics.[108] 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.[109] Following the race, "Happy Birthday" was played over the stadium's sound system as his 22nd birthday would begin at midnight.[109]
Two days later, Bolt ran as the third leg in the Jamaican 4 × 100 metres relay team, increasing his gold medal total to three.[110] Along with teammates Nesta Carter, Michael Frater