Usain Bolt
Jamaican sprinter
Usain Bolt: sprinting’s three-Olympics benchmark
From Jamaica to Beijing
Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt became a global figure at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, winning both the 100 and 200 metres. The double established him at the top of two distinct sprint events, not merely as a specialist in one distance.
Berlin’s record races
At the 2009 world championships in Berlin, Bolt ran 9.58 seconds for 100 metres and 19.19 for 200 metres. World Athletics still lists both marks as world records. They anchor his athletic legacy in performances measured on the track, beyond his showmanship.
Repeating the Olympic double
Bolt again won the Olympic 100 and 200 metres in London in 2012 and Rio in 2016. World Athletics credits him with eight Olympic titles and eleven world titles overall. He ended his competitive career after the 2017 world championships, leaving an unmatched sequence of three consecutive Olympic sprint doubles.
Data and sources
World Athletics — Usain Bolt athlete profile ↗