The spectacle of Usain Bolt descended on Olympic Stadium again Thursday night, its stands packed with Jamaica’s green and black colors and other hues from around the world rooting for him just the same. They wanted to see a show. They got even more.
Bolt ran away from the field in the 200-meter dash, falling shy of his world record but still easily capturing his second gold medal of the Rio Games and the eighth of his Olympic career. On Friday night, he will join the favored Jamaican team in the 4×100-meter relay to fulfill his ultimate quest: the triple-triple, or three gold medals in the same three events over the course of three Olympics.
“There are no words to explain,” Bolt said. “Eight time Olympic Champion. The 200 means a lot more to me and I have been enjoying it.
“There is nothing else I can do. I have proven to the world that I’m the greatest. That’s what I came here for and that’s what I’ve been doing. That is why it’s my last Olympics. I can’t prove anything else.”
Never before had a runner won the 100-meter dash in back-to-back-to-back Olympics. Bolt did so easily earlier this week. The 200 was even more of a blowout, not surprising seeing as it’s his best event but still marvelous to watch because of his towering superiority.
Bolt had breezed through his initial heat round, jogging the last 100 meters, and did the same in the semifinals, though Canada’s young star Andre De Grasse nearly caught him. Bolt did not take kindly to this and made sure the separation between him and De Grasse – him and all seven competitors, really – better indicated his true sprinting dominance.
While Bolt failed to beat his world record of 19.19 seconds and Olympic record of 19.30 seconds in less-than-ideal conditions with a wet track, his 19.78-second time Thursday easily outpaced his foes. Running out of Lane 6, he executed a perfect turn and cruised past Christophe Lemaitre and Churandy Martina, both running to his right. The last 100 meters were nothing but straight, and Bolt extended his advantage as the other runners fought for silver and bronze.
“I was not pleased with my time,” Bolt said. “Even if you run a world record you still want to run faster, but my legs decided they aren’t having it and I was so tired I lost my form on the last part of the race. But the key thing is that you guys know I won and the only thing that matters is the gold medal.”
De Grasse, who won a bronze in the 100, took silver at 20.02 seconds. France’s Lemaitre finished bronze with a time of 20.12.
All were left in Bolt’s wake, as has been the rest of the world during his decade-plus of supremacy. The Rio Games, like the London Games and Beijing Games before them, are his personal play toy. The track is Usain Bolt’s world. Everyone else is just living in it.
“When I went to Athens in 2004 I just went there and I didn’t go through from the first round,” Bolt said. “All I wanted to do was run the 200 meter and win an Olympic gold medal once. So to be the eight-time Olympic gold medalist is a big deal and I’ve worked hard to be the best…
“It’s my last individual event at the Olympics. In the relays you never know what will happen. So I just wanted to say goodbye.”
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