Usain Bolt Continues to Dominate

Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt has done it again. It is hard to imagine that he could improve upon his impressive performance last year at the Beijing Olympics, but he has. Last year, Bolt made a name for himself by capturing the Gold Medal in both the 100 meter and 200 meter sprints, while setting a world record in both events. The most amazing part was how easy he made it look. He created some controversy over his celebrations that started before he had even finished the races. Bolt managed to set the world records while slowing to a jog in the last ten meters of both races. This time at the World Championships in Berlin, Bolt has smashed his own records while cruising to easy victories in the 100 and 200 meters races. He appeared to run through the finish line this time and it resulted in him besting his own records by .11 seconds in each race. He finished the 100 meter race in 9.58 seconds and the 200 meter race he won with a time of 19.19 seconds. In the 200 meter race, a race which is usually decided by tenths of seconds and photo finishes, Bolt beat his nearest competitor, Alonso Edward of Panama, by .62 seconds. With his performance, Bolt proved that no one in the track world today has the chance to catch him anytime soon. It gets scarier when consider that Bolt just turned twenty-three years old. He is in the prime of his career and by all accounts getting better and better.

We may be witnessing the best sprinter of all time develop before our eyes. Bolt is also arguably the most dominant athlete in the world today. A case could be made for Tiger Woods, but he has not been the same since his knee injury and we just saw him lose a major after leading after 54-holes, something that we rarely saw before. A case could also be made for tennis' Roger Federer, but a healthy Raphael Nadal proved last year at Wimbledon that he has what it takes to beat Federer. There is nobody that can even come close to catching Bolt, even on a bad day. Bolt dominates every race he is in with ease and makes his competitors look like they don't belong on the same track with him. That's not easy to do to someone who runs a 9.71 100 meter dash. However, with Usain Bolt, every race seems to be a race against the clock, with seven other men competing for second behind him.

Usain Bolt's rise to prominence is a gift for the entire track world. For a sport that is usually marred by steroid scandals, Bolt's success is a welcome distraction. He has brought positive attention and interest to a sport that has long lacked that. He must be doing something right when the only thing anyone can find to criticize him on is his unique celebrations after his races. Bolt's fame and popularity has brought media attention back to track and field and judging by his recent performances and the fact that he is just now entering his prime; we may have the privilege of watching him dominate the sprints for some time to come.