Usain Bolt

Born in Jamaica in 1986, it quickly became clear that Usain Bolt's legs would take him far and fast. In his first regional appearance at age 14, Bolt earned silver medals in the 400m and 200m distances at the 2001 CARIFTA Games. The next year he won the 200m event at the World Junior Championships, becoming the youngest gold medalist the Junior Championships had ever seen. Hampered by a leg injury, Bolt competed at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, but failed to make it to the medal round. In 2007, Bolt expressed an interest in running the 100m event, but his coach refused to allow it unless Bolt broke the 36-year-old Jamaican record in the 200m race. Bolt broke the record at the 2007 Jamaican Championship and began to train for the 100m in addition to the 200m and 400m. In 2008, at the Reebok Grand Prix in New York (his fifth 100m competition), Bolt broke the world record in the event. At the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China, Bolt set new world records and in the 100m and 200m races, becoming the first ever to accomplish this feat. Bolt also won Olympic gold and set a new world record as part of the 4x 100m-relay team. He again broke records for the 100m and 200m distances at the 2009 World Championships. At the 2012 Olympic Games in London, England, Bolt became a sprinting legend when he repeated as gold medalist in the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relays.