Usain Bolt Biography

At the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, Usain Bolt, a Jamaican sprinter attracted everyone's attention by his outstanding performance in the men's athletics. He won three gold medals in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m events and set a new world record. He is the first sportsperson to win all three events at the same Olympics and break the world record set by Carl Lewis in 1984. Due to his great achievements, he is nicknamed as 'Lightning Bolt'. He is honored as the 'fastest man in the world'. Usain Bolt biography reveals the facts about his early life, his career and achievements.

Early life: Usain Bolt was born on August 21, 1986 to Jennifer and Wellesley Bolt. His birthplace was a small town called Trelawny, in Jamaica. In his childhood, Usain Bolt was interested in playing cricket and football. He attended Waldensia Primary and All-age School and William Knibb High School. While at Waldensia School, Bolt was honored as the fastest runner over 100m distance. When he entered the William Knibb High School, his cricket coach insisted that he try track and field events. Dwayne Barrett and Pablo McNeil, a former 100m Olympic athlete guided him about improving his athletic abilities. In 2001, Bolt won his first silver medal in the 200 meters with a time of 22.04 seconds at the annual high school championships.

Early competitions: Usain Bolt displayed his personal best of 48.28 seconds in the 400 meters and won a silver medal in the 2001 CARIFTA Games, a Caribbean regional event. He also finished 200 meters in 21.81 seconds and achieved a silver medal. Bolt first appeared in a world competition at the 2001 IAAF World Youth Championships in Debrecen, Hungary. He didn't qualify for the finals of the 200m event, but he set his personal best of 21.73 seconds. He set the record of 20.61 seconds and 47.12 seconds finishes at the Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships, respectively. Then, Bolt moved to Kingston with the support of P.J. Patterson, the Prime Minister of Jamaica.

Rising star: At the age of 15, Bolt won a gold and two silver medals at the 2002 World Junior Championships in Kingston. He was a subject of attraction due to his exceptional height of 6'5" and his extraordinary performance. He set his new personal best of 20.16 seconds in the 200m. Bolt also displayed a shining performance in the Jamaican sprint relay team, achieving two silver medals. He set national junior records in the 4x400m and 4x100m by finishing in 3:04.06 minutes and 39.15 seconds respectively. He won a gold medal at the 2003 World Youth Championships and set a new record of 20.40 seconds in the 200m. In his final Jamaican High School Championships in 2003, he broke the records in both the 400 and 200 meters, with 45.30 seconds and 20.25 seconds, respectively.

Professional athletics career: Usain Bolt became a professional athlete in 2004 under the guidance of his new coach Fitz Coleman. He started with the CARIFTA Games in Bermuda, where he was the first junior sprinter to run the 200m in less than 20 seconds and broke the world junior record of Roy Martin. Bolt lost the opportunity to compete in the 2004 World Junior Championships due to a hamstring injury. However, he was selected for the Jamaican Olympic Squad; but was eliminated in the first round of the 200 meters due to a leg injury.

In 2005, Bolt got a fresh start under the guidance of his new coach, Glen Mills. He scored the season's best finish of 19.99 seconds for the 200 meters at the London's Crystal Palace in July, the same year. Bolt reached the top 5 on the world rankings in 2005 and 2006. He set his new personal best at the 2006 Grand Prix in Lausanne, Switzerland, setting the record time of 19.88 seconds. Bolt got his first major world medal at the IAAF World Athletics Final in Stuttgart, Germany. He won a bronze medal by finishing in a time of 20.10 seconds. He achieved his first senior international silver medal in the IAAF World Cup in Athens, Greece. In 2007, he finished the 200m in 19.75 seconds at the Jamaican Championships and broke the record of Don Quarrie by 0.11 seconds. He won silver medals in the 200m and 4x100m at the World Championships in Osaka, Japan.

On May 31, 2008, Bolt established a new world record at the Reebok Grand Prix in New York. He ran the 100m event in 9.72 seconds and broke an earlier record of 9.74 seconds set by Powell. At the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, he set the Olympic and world records for the 100m, 200m and 4x100m by finishing in 9.69 seconds, 19.30 seconds and 37.10 seconds respectively. On August 16, 2008, Bolt won the 100m Olympic final in 9.69 seconds. Thus, Bolt set 2 records at the same event.

Usain Bolt has continued to display his wonderful performance in several world championships. Despite his great achievements, he is modest about his success and down-to-earth. He will no doubt continue with the same magnificent performance in the coming competitions. All the best for his future!