Name |
Usain Bolt |
Height |
6'4 |
Naionality |
Jamaica |
Date of Birth |
21 August 1986 |
Place of Birth |
Montego Bay, Jamaica |
Famous for |
|
Usain Bolt CD (pronounced /juːˈseɪn/) (born 21 August 1986) is a Jamaican sprinter. Bolt holds the Olympic and world records for the 100 metres at 9.69 seconds, the 200 metres at 19.30 seconds and, along with his teammates, the 4x100 metres relay at 37.10 seconds, all set at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Bolt became the first man to win all three events at a single Olympics since Carl Lewis in 1984, and the first man in history to set world records in all three at a single Olympics. His name and achievements in sprinting have earned him the media nickname "'Lightning' Bolt".
Bolt distinguished himself with a 200 m gold medal at the 2002 World Junior Championships, making him the competition's youngest-ever gold medalist. In 2004, at the CARIFTA Games, Bolt became the first junior sprinter to run the 200 m in under 20 seconds with a time of 19.93 s, breaking Roy Martin's world junior record by two-tenths of a second. Bolt also set competition records at a number of other junior events.
Bolt turned professional in 2004 but missed most of his first two seasons due to injuries; he was eliminated in the first round of the 200 m heats at the 2004 Summer Olympics. In 2007, Bolt beat Don Quarrie's 200 m Jamaican national record with a run of 19.75 s. In May 2008, Bolt set his first 100 m world record with a time of 9.72 s, improving upon his previous personal best of 9.76 s which was made earlier in the month.
As a result of Bolt's successes in athletics, he was named the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year for 2009.