Usain Bolt bagged his eighth Olympic gold medal in Rio.
Jamaican superstar and Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt did not fail his fans’ expectations as he bagged the gold medal in the men’s 200 meter finals in the 2016 Olympic Games that is still on the heat at Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.
This is the second gold medal of the dubbed “fastest man alive” in the Rio Olympics – the first was in the 100 meter dash – a feat that will be held up as one of the most untouchable records in sports.
Bolt finished the 200 meter run in 19.78 seconds to dust out his competitors, Andre de Grasse of Canada and Christophe Lemaitre of France.
Usain Bolt spread his arms wide as he his name was announced to the Olympic Stadium crowd late Thursday night (Rio Time). He flashed a grin toward a television camera and wiggled his eyebrows mischievously.
Lowering himself onto his knees, he pointed his finger to the sky, where a light rain was swirling in a cool, steady wind. He lowered his eyes to the blue track, making his gold chain dangle from his neck.
The 29-year-old sprinter is set to heat-up the track on Saturday (Philippine time) to beat his target of getting three gold medals just like he did in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2012 London Games. The last one will be on 4x100m sprint.
“I don’t need to prove anything else,” Bolt said. “What else can I do to prove to the world I am the greatest?”
In a way, he was racing against himself. The only question before the race seemed to be whether Bolt might break his own world record of 19.19, set seven years ago in Berlin. He had said that was his goal in Rio, and when he crossed the finish line, a tinge of disappointment was apparent in his face and posture.
Regardless, no one will question his stature in history. Earlier this week, Bolt hurtled past his competitors to win the 100 meters with apparent ease, becoming the first person to win three consecutive gold medals in any Olympic track and field event. He doubled that feat on Thursday with the 200.
