The Bolt impact
By Clare Forrester
Monday, August 06, 2012
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sport/The-Bolt-impact_12184049#poll#ixzz22lMWlqGM
IN the middle of all the hype and excitement surrounding Usain Bolt and his superhuman performances, one vastly important fact is being overlooked. Even if Bolt never wins another race in his life his impact is already earth-shattering, not for his mind-blowing records, but because Bolt has single-handedly changed the culture of Olympic sports.
I watched Serena Williams dancing on court after her demolition of Maria Sharapova in the gold medal match at Wimbledon. This was not just jumping up and down, it was actual dance moves. This would never have happened pre-Bolt.
In almost every track final the athletes are trying to show relaxation and play with the crowd before the race. The smiles are not tenuous anymore, they are bright and genuine. It seems many athletes have taken to heart Bolt's relax-and-have-fun mantra, diametrically opposed to the traditional focus-and-get-serious advice.
In the same way that Rafa Nadal biting his medal has gone beyond tennis and is now replicated at virtually every medal ceremony, even by Serena Williams, so too has Bolt's message of relaxation seeped into the collective consciousness of all of today's sportsmen. Expect more smiles and less scowls, less furrowed foreheads and gazes into an eternal horizon.
Bolt has taught the world a lesson, that sports is fun and if you are a sportsperson you should be having fun. With his 100m victory last night, he has given Jamaicans at home and abroad every reason to join in his fun.
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http://www.kentucky.com
Storm drenches Jamaica but not joy over Bolt win
KINGSTON, JAMAICA — A tropical storm drenching parts of Jamaica couldn't dampen the country's joy Sunday over another record-breaking Olympic victory by Usain Bolt.
As Bolt re-established his claim to the title of world's fastest man at the London Olympic Games, thousands of his countrymen cheered him on in an athletics building on the grounds of the national stadium, other public viewing areas and thousands of living rooms as off-and-on gusty winds from the storm swept across the Caribbean country.
A crowd of roughly 500 people on the grounds of the national stadium cheered wildly as Bolt crossed the finish line of the 100-meter dash in 9.63 seconds, many dancing and chanting "Jamaica, Jamaica!" One woman dropped to the ground, crying with relieved joy. A group of drummers pounded out a pulsing beat.
Nine-year-old Lois Miller was among a group of dancing, flag-waving children. "Jamaica No. 1! I knew it! I knew it," she said breathlessly.
The intermittent rain and wind from Tropical Storm Ernesto forced the country to abandon plans for an outdoor viewing area at the Kingston stadium, but spectators managed to watch Bolt's win in the semi-finals less than a minute before a fierce squall swept in and crews had to disassemble the stage and video monitors.
"Bolt runs, the whole world shakes," said Patricia Ebanks, a vendor in a jerk chicken stall set up outside the stadium.
At the Halfway Tree square in Kingston, several hundred people gathered at another outdoor viewing area that attracted hundreds Jamaicans, who stood in a slight drizzle to wave flags and bang kitchen pot lids and blow zuzuvelas. Many mimicked Bolt's famous two-fingered victory pose.
"Shot down the American dem, shot dem down big time. Lef' dem fi dead," said triumphant fan Roy Collins, speaking in Jamaican patois.
The Caribbean island is a hothouse for producing sprinters, and for weeks Jamaicans had enthusiastically debated whether Bolt or fellow Jamaican Yohan Blake would claim top honors.
"It's Bolt all the way for me. He's going to take it all," Natalie Henningham, an accountant watching at the national stadium, said before the race.
Nearby, George Russell shouted: "No way! Blake!"
The rest of the field, including Americans Tyson Gay, Justin Gatlin and another Jamaican, Asafa Powell, barely got a mention.
"Bolt all the way! The big man a go defend it! Blake have to settle for silver," Bernard Wolfe shouted to neighborhood buddies who were rooting for Blake in the Kingston community of Grant's Pen.
Blake, Bolt's workout partner and blisteringly fast rival, had beaten the Jamaican sensation in the 100- and 200-meter finals during the island's Olympic trials. Bolt's subsequent withdrawal from a meet in Monaco only added to the intrigue and set up the most anticipated story line of the 2012 Games.
But Bolt, the 6-foot-5 sprinter with a long, loping stride, delivered a huge performance again.
Jamaica was already in a party mood. It's celebrating its 50th anniversary of independence Monday. Plus, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce on Saturday won back-to-back Olympic titles in the women's 100 meters, an exciting way to start a historic weekend in Jamaica, which became independent of Britain in 1962.
A one-two by Bolt and Blake was the icing on the cake in Jamaica, a high-spirited tropical island that is known worldwide for its knack for producing ultra-talented musicians and athletes.
Bolt has been the country's biggest living icon since he kicked off his run at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing with a world-record time of 9.69 in the 100 meters. He earned that record even after he lost time by mugging for the cameras with about 20 meters to go, stretching his arms out with palms up, then pounding his chest.
Bolt went on to win three gold medals and set three world records in that Olympics.
The island's prime minster, Portia Simpson Miller, described Sunday's race by Bolt and Blake as "sheer brilliance."
Everyone in Jamaica seemed to agree.
"There's nobody can stop us!" said Russell Slater, pointing at the word "Jamaica" on his yellow T-shirt.
Associated Press writer Howard Campbell contributed to this report.
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Jamaica's Usain Bolt reacts to his win in the men's 100-meter final during the athletics in the Olympic Stadium at the 2012 Summer Olympics, London, Sunday, Aug. 5, 2012.
Anja Niedringhaus — AP Photo
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