Who doesn't know the incredible career of Usain Bolt? The former athlete, also known as Lightning Bold (El Relámpago Bolt in Spanish), is considered the fastest man in the world for his many achievements.
These include eleven world titles and eight Olympic titles as a sprinter, world records in the 100 and 200 metres and the 4x10 relay race in the Jamaican team to which he belonged. He is one of the athletes who has won the most titles in the youth, junior and absolute categories at world level.
His personal best in the 100 metres is 9.58 seconds. Without a doubt, we are looking at a speed legend who has more than proven to deserve all the achievements he boasts. Some of the characteristics that define Bolt's personality are perseverance, tenacity and humility. But, if you are a fan of this sport and want to know even more details about the athlete's personal and professional life, keep reading!
1. Where did Usain Bolt grow up?
The former athlete was born on August 21, 1986 in Trelawny, Jamaica, where he lived and grew up with his parents: Jennifer and Wellesley Bolt. Both ran a small and humble rural store in Sherwood Content, a small town in Trelawny. Usain Bolt was lucky enough to live a full childhood surrounded by his two brothers: Sadeeki and Sherine, with whom he played soccer. cricket and football while his parents ran the shop. On several occasions the former athlete has confessed that at this stage of his life he only thought about sport; it was his great passion. In this same town he attended the Waldensia school, where in addition to studying, he also practiced athletics. It was at this time that Bolt demonstrated his talent in sprinting, becoming the fastest athlete in his school in the 100-meter dash at the age of twelve.
2. What sports did Bolt play before becoming a professional athlete?
Bolt began to discover his passion for sport when he was very young. The former athlete spent his days playing football, basket and to cricket with his brother while his parents worked. In addition, from the moment he set foot in school, Bolt was already participating in sprint races where his talent and charisma stood out from the rest.
Although he did not train much at that time, the former athlete looked for any moment to practice sport, especially cricket, a sport that he abandoned for athletics when his coach at that time recommended that he exploit his abilities as an athlete. At that time, Asafa Powell, a great Jamaican athlete who had discovered Bolt for his great qualities, recommended that the young man take advantage of his talent and dedicate hours to training. Bolt listened to him and quickly became fully immersed in this discipline.
3. Who was your first athletics coach?
After finishing his primary education at Waldensia School, where he had already taken his first steps in athletics, he began secondary school at William Knibb, where, in addition to concentrating all his efforts on sport, he also met Pablo McNeil, a Jamaican athlete who, in addition to having participated in several Olympic Games, was also an athletics coach. McNeil, who had previously been a mentor to the great athlete Michael Green, became Bolt's personal coach after winning his first silver medal in the 200 metres at a school sporting event at just 15 years old.
The athlete's professional career has led him to obtain great awards.In 2007, he broke the world record for the 200 metres with a time of 19.75 seconds. Just one year later, in 2008, he set the first world record for the 100 metres with a time of 9.72 seconds, as well as other achievements such as the relay race with the Jamaican team at the Beijing Olympics. He also became the first athlete to win three Olympic events since Carl Lewis in 1984.
In 2010 he once again surpassed his own records and achieved the 100 and 200 metre records in a time of 9.58 and 19.19 at the World Championships in Berlin. Usain Bolt was not long in surprising us again when he proved that he was still the number one at the 2012 London Olympics by winning the 100 metre Olympic gold after Beijing 2008.
After these impressive achievements he was nicknamed The Lightning as well as being recognized as Athlete of the Year by the IAAF and the magazine Track and Field.
4. What sport did Bolt practice after his retirement as an athlete?
Bolt had a passion for football since he was a child, but his undoubted talent as an athlete quickly made all the Jamaican's chances of becoming a great footballer disappear. After retiring from athletics in 2018, Bolt spent time on trial with the Australian team of the Central Coast Mariners, but certain discrepancies in the contract caused it to be dissolved just a few months after it was signed.
5. Did you know that Bolt discovered he had scoliosis when he was a child?
Usain Bolt did not eat a very balanced diet and this was the main reason why the former athlete discovered that he suffered from an imbalance in his spine that made his right leg slightly shorter than his left, a problem that never prevented him from running like a gazelle. However, he did not start to be treated until he was 15, when he became the youngest junior champion to win the 200 metres.
6. Why did you receive so much criticism at the 2008 Beijing Olympics?
After winning three gold medals at the Beijing Olympics, Bolt could not contain his joy and celebrated by jumping and beating his chest, an attitude that the president of the Olympic Committee, Jacques Rogge, described as undignified due to the lack of sportsmanship that constituted the fact of not greeting his opponents. In response to this accusation, Bolt's representative, Ricky Simms, claimed that the former athlete was not a disrespectful man, but that in a situation of extreme happiness, his reaction could only be a huge celebration.
7. What promise did Bolt break after Beijing 2008?
The former athlete swore that he would never leave his home country of Jamaica, but after being filled with success and achievements, the Jamaican broke his promise in 2018 and moved to Sydney, Australia, where he bought a mansion valued at more than 1,600,000 million dollars.
As for the athlete's private life, he had his first daughter with Kasi Bennet on May 17, 2020, named Olympia Lightning Bolt, and a year later they announced a new pregnancy with twins: Saint Leo and Thunder.
8. What is Usain Bolt's pet?
As if his speed were not enough, in 2009 Usain Bolt adopted a leopard that had been abandoned in Kenya, one of the fastest animals in the world. The former athlete wanted to name his pet after him. Lightning Bolt, just like his nickname. The Jamaican paid more than 10.000 dollars in the process of adopting the leopard and since then, he has been cared for in a specialist centre located in Nairobi, Kenya.
9. Do you know the Jamaican's passion for the NBA?
In addition to athletics, cricket and football, Bolt also played basketball in his childhood, a sport in which he was far from mediocre, and was also influenced by great NBA players. In 2013, after having attended many NBA games, the former athlete was invited to the game of the famous, All Star, where to his surprise, he only scored two points with a two-handed dunk.
10. Do you know the former athlete's passion for dance and music?
Due to his Jamaican roots, Bolt has always had music and dance very present in his life, having acknowledged in several interviews that, like his father, he is a great Latin dancer. In fact, at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, we have been able to see how the Jamaican has celebrated his most emblematic victories by dancing with joy. One of his favorite genres is Latin. reggae, having supported the music of great artists such as Dong Ravers on their social networks.
After learning a little more about the life of former athlete Usain Bolt, you will surely want to revisit the most iconic moments of his career, starting with his beginnings in the Jamaican team up to his last brilliant participation in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. There is no doubt that the Jamaican has always opted for what he was best at and what made him happiest: sport. Therefore, his talent and effort have made the former athlete the fastest man in the world, and also one of the most beloved in the world of professional sport.
