Athletics says goodbye to a global superstar, whose record and personality may never be surpassed
In the late seventies I had the good fortune to work close to the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, in those days, it was the mecca of British Athletics. My proximity to the CPNSC allowed me to nip out during my lunch hour and buy tickets for all the major athletics meetings held there. Great times.
The annual highlight was the Coca-Cola invitational meeting – the finale to the European track season. It attracted the worlds best athletes, providing a brilliant showcase for Britain’s best talent, and British athletics in general. It was loud and boisterous. Events usually over-ran and there was usually a mad scramble to get the last bus home as a result – it was brilliant.
Those were the days of Allan Wells, Brendan Foster, Sebastian Coe, Steve Ovett et al. Great days, of course for British Athletics. Brendan Foster was perhaps my favourite, the athlete I most wanted to appear and not withdraw from injury, once the meetings and competitors were announced,
Big Bren had a cracking pair of sideburns, baggy vest and a dry Geordie wit. He was a distance runner of great talent, winning six major medals in his career, the highlight being Olympic bronze in the 10,000 metres in 1976.
I mention my fondness for Foster with the retirement of Usain Bolt firmly in mind. The 2017 world athletics championships that concluded yesterday in London were the last hurrah of the incomparable Jamaican sprint king.
A comparison of a distance runner and sprinter might seem incongruous here, but bear with me. It’s about changing times, different eras and cultural shifts – but what doesn’t change is the reason we love our sport. Athletics has changed massively in the forty years or so since I invested my couple of pounds for admission to the Palace to watch the superstars of the day. But the thrill remains unchanged – whether it was Wells, Coe, Ovett and Foster – or Bolt, Rudisha, Van Niekirk & Farah.
Bren’s shaggy sideburns vs Bolt’s sculpted fade haircuts…Bren’s vests vs Bolt’s skin-tight lycra…and quite what Bren had in his kitbag that can be compared to Bolt’s golden Puma running spikes, heaven only knows. It doesn’t really matter, of course. Times change but our desire to watch our heroes remains.
Modern culture, with its immediacy of technology, allows us to celebrate our current sporting heroes in a different way now compared to Bren’s day. Social media and the whole digital age have changed that landscape forever. But it’s the same enthusiasm that drives us to celebrate and admire – whether we are thinking of Brendan’s or Bolt’s, whatever era we are in.
Sport develops over the years – technology, performance levels, earnings, fame…but sportsmen & women compete for the same reasons now as they always did, and our admiration and support of them works in the same way. Some things in sport change over time, of course – but the fundamentals of appreciating brilliant performances and fantastic achievements don’t.
So, we bid farewell to Usain St Leo Bolt, surely the greatest sprinter and athlete we have ever seen. And one of the best sportsmen ever, overall. We all knew it was coming, but it was a night of sadness even so.
It’s not just the medal haul – 8 Olympic gold medals (9, but for team-mate Nesta Carter’s failed drug test forfeiting the 2008 100m relay gold) – plus 11 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze at the World championships. Or even being the current world record holder for both the 100 and 200 metres. It’s the domination, the stature, the longevity of his reign.
Talent gets you started, but commitment keeps you there. Bolt epitomises that. As for personality, we can take Bolt’s as a bonus combined with his achievements. If he was miserable and boring we’d probably still sing his praises, based purely on his medals. But the fact he is the polar opposite of miserable and boring makes him even more special.
Partying with Paul Pogba, munching chicken nuggets, clean bowling Chris Gayle – and hitting him for a six also – (2009 charity cricket match), breaking a world record whilst actually decelerating (Olympic 100m final, 2008)…never boring, always entertaining.
Last night wasn’t the greatest send-off for the great man. The record books will show that Bolt came third in the 100m, behind USA’s Justin Gatlin and Christian Coleman. Those of us who decry the reinstatement of proven drugs transgressors probably died a little when Gatlin took gold. But we have to remember the whole Bolt story and not concentrate on its final couple of lines.
In his last ever event, running the anchor leg in the 4 x 100m relay final, Bolt suffered a hamstring cramp as he tried to catch Great Britain’s Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake and USA’s Christian Coleman. Whilst we Brits celebrated long and loud a fantastic gold medal for our men, there was a lot of sadness at how Bolt finished the race. To see him – and Jamaica – out of the medals was one thing, to see him lying on the track in pain and clutching his leg was quite another.
When an official bought a wheelchair onto the track for Bolt it was just about the saddest metaphor for the end of a glittering career as you could wish to see. Thankfully, Bolt turned it away, and eventually limped gamely over the finish line. So, a bronze medal and a DNF, hardly how we’d expected Bolt to finish his career, but that’s because our expectations of him are so high.
Realistically, at the age of 30 at his last ever championships, it looked as though Bolt had got the timing of his final bow right. Was he a contender for gold in the 100m and relay? Yes he was. But were his chances fractionally less than in previous years? Yes. That’s what the passing of time does to a sportsman – diminishing your chances as each year passes. Even for Bolt.
His longevity and winning performances over three Olympic games and six world championships – plus all the Diamond League meetings – is amazing. Of course he could continue, but really, why would he? He has monstered all opposition for enough years to have made his point. His final championship individual final performance is not how he will be remembered.
“For me I don’t think one championship is going to change what I’ve done,” said Bolt. “I remember after losing the 100m someone said to me, ‘Usain, no worries, Muhammad Ali lost his last fight also, so don’t be stressed about that’.
“I’ve proven myself year in, year out, throughout my whole career.” Amen to that. The legacy is there for all to see. He changed the face of athletics through his brilliance, achievements and personality. He leaves Athletics, and sport in general, a better place for his contribution. Is there another Bolt out there, somewhere? Probably doubtful.
The lightning bolt man in his victory pose, but never a lightning rod for criticism, controversy, or negativity. That’s quite an achievement to sit alongside all those medals. Bolt remained a beacon of light right up to the end. In an era where doping and drug use in athletics is still depressingly high, he became the epitome of the clean athlete, relying on his natural talent and hard work alone.
Last word to Bolt: “The first thing I’m going to do is have some fun,” he said after his final race. “Have a party and have a drink. I need to chill.” Usain, you, more than anyone else in athletics – and probably sport on the whole over the last decade – deserves that. You will be sadly missed. What you achieved in just a few seconds on so many occasions, will last for many, years in our memories.
By Chris Tribe
13th August 2017
Copyright © 2017 Chris Tribe. All Rights Reserved.
Photo credit: Copyright © Author: J. Brichto/Usain Bolt after winning at the London Anniversary Games/This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License
Chris Tribe Sportswriting 