Usain Bolt

Name: Usain Bolt

Country: Jamaica

Birth date and place: 21/08/1986 - Trelawny (JAM)

Age: 25

Gender: M

Weight: 93 kg / 205 lbs

Height: 196 cm / 6'5"

Sport: Athletics (Men's 100m, Men's 200m, Men's 4x100m Relay)

RANK	EVENT	YEAR	LOCATION		RESULT
Olympic Games
1	100 m	2008	Beijing, CHN		9.69
1	200 m	2008	Beijing, CHN		19.30
1	4x100 m Relay	2008	Beijing, CHN		37.10
Heats	200 m	2004	Athens, GRE		21.05
World Championships
1	200 m	2011	Daegu, KOR		19.40
1	4x100 m Relay	2011	Daegu, KOR		37.04
1	100 m	2009	Berlin, GER		9.58
1	200 m	2009	Berlin, GER		9.58
1	4x100 m Relay	2009	Berlin, GER		37.31
2	200 m	2007	Osaka, JPN		19.91
2	4x100 m Relay	2007	Osaka, JPN		37.89
8	100 m	2011	Daegu, KOR		DSQ
Diamond League
1	100 m	2012		Oslo, NOR	9.79
1	100 m	2012		Rome, ITA	9.76
1	100 m	2011		Monaco, MON	9.88
1	100 m	2011		Rome, ITA	9.91
1	200 m	2011		Stockholm, SWE	20.03
1	200 m	2011		Paris St. Denis, FRA	20.03
1	200 m	2011		Oslo, NOR	19.86
1	100 m	2010		Paris St. Denis, FRA	9.84
1	200 m	2010		Shanghai, CHN	19.76
2	100 m	2010		Stockholm, SWE	9.97
Golden League
1	100 m	2009		Zurich, SUI	9.81
1	100 m	2009		Paris St. Denis, FRA	9.79
1	200 m	2009		Brussels, BEL	19.57
1	200 m	2008		Brussels, BEL	9.77
1	100 m	2008		Zurich, SUI	9.83
World Challenge
1	100 m	2012		Ostrava, CZE	10.04
1	100 m	2012		Kingston, JAM	9.82
1	100 m	2011		Zagreb, CRO	9.85
1	100 m	2011		Ostrava, CZE	9.91
1	100 m	2010		Daegu, KOR	9.86
1	300 m	2010		Ostrava, CZE	30.97
Super Grand Prix
1	100 m	2009		London, GBR	9.91
1	200 m	2009		Lausanne, SUI	19.59
1	200 m	2008		Lausanne, SUI	19.63
Grand Prix
1	100 m	2009		Ostrava, CZE	9.77

Nickname
Lightning Bolt. (Track and Field News, 01 Sep 2003)

Hobbies
Watching basketball, playing dominoes, listening to Jamaican dancehall music, dancing and partying. (Jamaican Athletics, 14 Oct 2003; bbc.co.uk, 18 Aug 2008; smh.com.au, 06 Sep 2011)

Occupation
Athlete

Club name
Racers Athletic Club, Kingston, JAM

Coach
Glen Mills from 2004 (espn.co.uk, 29 Dec 2011)

Debut
2004 for Jamaica, Olympic Games (Athens) (nbcolympics.com, 10 May 2012)

Injuries
An injured Achilles tendon in his left ankle kept him out of competition for five weeks in 2010. He returned to action at the Diamond League event in Lausanne in July before back problems brought his year to an end in August. (bbc.co.uk, 08 Jul 2010, 06 Aug 2010; dailymail.co.uk, 24 May 2011)

In April 2009 he crashed his BMW M3 on a wet road outside of Kingston. The car overturned, rolled into a ditch and was severely damaged. Neither he, his brother nor a female passenger were seriously injured, although he was treated for scratches and a minor foot injury. He missed about a month of training and competition. (guardian.co.uk, 01 May 2009; nbcolympics.com, 10 May 2012)

He was forced to miss the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia with a hamstring injury. (usainbolt.com, 17 Aug 2009)

Additional information
Start of sporting career
He started sprinting during his days at William Knibb Memorial High School in Trelawny, Jamaica. (jamaica-gleaner.com, 18 Aug 2008)

Reason for taking up this sport
He played cricket for his school as his height made him a natural fast bowler. The cricket coach recognised he was also quick on his feet and suggested he try sprinting. (sherbrooke2003.ca, 24 Sep 2003)

Ambitions
To become a legend. (bbc.co.uk, 20 Aug 2009)

Training
He works on a cyclical training basis. At the start of a season he works on strength development before concentrating on coordination and biomechanical execution as the season develops. (usainbolt.com, 10 May 2012)

Hero
The United States' world and Olympic champion sprinter Michael Johnson and Jamaica's Olympic champions Herb McKenley - who won gold in the 4x400m at the 1952 Helsinki Games, and Don Quarrie - who won gold in the 200m at the 1976 Montreal Games. "If you sit and watch Don Quarrie, he is one of the smoothest bend runners ever." (bbc.co.uk, 18 Aug 2008)

Most influential person in career
Coach Glen Mills. "He is like a father figure to me," he said. "He has never done me any wrong and he has always made the right decisions. He is a guiding light and he has shown me the way to improve myself both as a person and as an athlete." (AFP, 24 Nov 2008)

Superstitions / Rituals
"The night before [a race] I decide what I need to do. Then on the day I just try to relax, think about other stuff, maybe cars or something. If you think about racing too much you may just lose it a little bit." (bbc.co.uk, 18 Aug 2008)

Awards
In recognition of his achievements, he has received various titles from the Jamaican government, as well as an honorary degree from the University of West Indies. With all honorifics, his official title is: Dr the Honourable Ambassador Usain St Leo Bolt, OJ. (jamaica-gleaner.com, 05 Oct 2008; smh.com.au, 06 Sep 2011; jis.gov.jm, 10 May 2012)

He has been conferred a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation [UNESCO] Champion for Sport. (jis.gov.jm, 10 May 2012)

He received the IAAF World Athlete of the Year award in 2008, 2009 and 2011. (iaaf.org, 12 Nov 2011)

He was named Laureus World Sportsman of the Year in 2009 and 2010. (laureus.com, 10 May 2012)

General
WHEELY BAD DRIVER
He has been involved in a few accidents since rising to prominence. In 2009 he crashed a BMW car into a ditch along a highway. He was forced to have surgery on his left foot after stepping on thorns while walking away from the wreck. Then, in June 2012, he lost control of another BMW and collided with guard rails early in the morning after leaving a party. He was unharmed. (AP, 10 Jun 2012)

STARTING OFF ON THE WRONG FOOT
In the months before the 2012 Olympic Games in London, he spoke out against the new starting blocks, saying they did not suit him. "The blocks have changed from last season. They're new models. Personally I think they need to go back to the old blocks," he said. "I'm not very pleased with the new blocks they have, they're a little short for me." He wears UK size 13 shoes. (AFP, 10 Jun 2012)

2011 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
A false start eliminated him from the 100m final at the 2011 World Championships and focussed sharp criticism on the IAAF's zero-tolerance false start rule inaugurated in 2010. After cooling down on the practice track, he told reporters the mishap wasn't going to affect him. "Looking for tears?" he said. "Not going to happen. I'm OK." Days later he put the disappointment behind him to successfully defended his 200m title, claiming gold in 19.40. (espn.go.com, 28 Aug 2011; daegu2011.iaaf.org, 03 Sep 2011)

UNCONVENTIONAL
In his 2010 biography 'Usain Bolt: 9.58' he revealed that he doesn't consider himself a conventional athlete and could run even faster if he could be bothered to live a more disciplined lifestyle. "I'm so lucky that I'm raw talent," he said. "If I really worked at it I could be extremely good indeed, but I never have. Yes, I put the effort in at times, but I could do more. If I train right, eat right, go to the gym all the time and dedicate myself 100 per cent then I definitely will do crazy times. It's hard, I don't know how some sportsmen do it, I do what I like, stay up until whatever time I feel like, socialise when I like and eat what I like. I don't follow any of the rules." (smh.com.au, 06 Sep 2011)

2009 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
He set a 100m world record of 9.58 at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, bettering his own record by 0.11 seconds - the biggest single improvement of the record since 1921. He then went on to set a new 200m world record of 19.19 seconds, again bettering his own record by 0.11, to become the first man to hold the 100m and 200m world and Olympic titles at the same time. "I definitely showed people that my world records in Beijing were not a joke," he said. To mark his achievements Berlin mayor, Klaus Wowereit, presented him with a 12-foot tall original section of the Berlin Wall. (abc.net.au, 17 Aug 2009; berlin.iaaf.org, 16 Aug 2009; bbc.co.uk, 20 Aug 2009; sports.espn.go.com, 23 Aug 2009)

2008 OLYMPIC GAMES
At the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games he became the first man in Olympic history to win both the 100m and 200m races in world record times, but received criticism from IOC president Jacques Rogge for showing a lack of respect to his competitors for celebrating before crossing the line in the 100m. "I would love him to show more respect for his competitors," Rogge said. "That's not the way we perceive being a champion. I understand the joy, but he might have interpreted that in another way. He'll learn. He's still a young man." (cbc.ca, 20 Aug 2008; usainbolt.com, 17 Aug 2009; sports.aol.com, 10 May 2012)

FRIES WITH THAT?
After setting a new 100m world record at the 2009 World Championships he revealed some unusual nutritional preparation. "Asafa [Powell] said there was no nuggets here [in Berlin] but I found a McDonald's and I had a lot of nuggets for lunch," he said. He also admitted that during his record runs at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games he was eating up to 15 chicken nuggets at least once a day. (news.com.au, 17 Aug 2009; smh.com.au, 06 Sep 2011)<

Previous Olympics
Beijing 2008, Athens 2004

Source: LONDON2012.COM