No sportsperson unites the world quite like Usain Bolt. Yes, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, LeBron James, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams are all hugely popular figures but there are rivalries within liking each individual. Heaven forbid anyone liking Messi and Ronaldo, or being a ‘Federer man’ as well as a ‘Nadal fan’.
There are no such issues regarding Bolt. He is truly an athlete of the world. When he races everyone watches and everyone wants and wills him to win. And triumph again he did in Beijing, twice as an individual and once within Jamaica’s 4x100m relay team. He has 17 Olympic and World Championship golds. It is a truly astonishing haul.
In China’s capital, there was additional narrative alongside the traditional: just how fast he can go? This time it was about the ‘good v evil’ battle with Justin Gatlin. It was never a storyline Bolt fully immersed himself in – and indeed has continually praised Gatlin for being a “great competitor” – but like any superhero he defeated the bad guy, not once, not twice but three times.
His times in the 100m and 200m were insignificant, this was about the fight for the heart and soul of athletics. And it is within this that Bolt has proved so crucial to the sport since his first star turn in 2008. He has held the sport together throughout the myriad doping scandals and falling public interest.
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He is more than the headliner, when he races he is the whole event. He completely transcends the entire sport. Which is why his likely retirement after Rio next year must be so galling for the IAAF and the IOC. They are losing Michael Jordan, Pele and Sachin Tendulkar all in one go. There will be a considerable void that needs to be filled.
But in Beijing, over the last nine days, a number of potential stars have emerged that can carry the torch of athletics onwards into the next decade. Of course, none are likely to have the same impact as Bolt but the future does look bright.
Firstly, the Dutch sprinter Dafne Schippers who, given the dubious nature of the times posted by Florence Griffith Joyner in 1988 and Marion Jones, effectively ran a world record in her blistering 200m performance on Friday. Aged 23, she is a marketing executive’s dream and if she can maintain her stunning rise will be a force in the sprint world for at least the next five years.
While just .44 seconds behind the Flying Dutchwoman in fifth was Britain’s 18-year-old Dina Asher-Smith who is the real deal.
While the 100m was all about the Bolt-Gatlin duo, beyond those two in third and fourth were 20-yearold’s Trayvon Brommel of the USA and Andre De Grasse of Canada. When you add the potential of British teen Chijindu Ujah, who just missed out on a place in the final, there are some brilliant rivalries to emerge over the short distance.
Former world 400m champion Kirani James is just 22 and was edged out by 23-year-old South African Wayde van Niekerk in a thrilling final. Expect that battle to be intensified in Rio and beyond.
Jamaica’s Danielle Williams won the 100m hurdles, aged 22, while impressive 20-year-old American medallist Shamier Little was denied by .44 seconds in her quest to win 400m hurdles gold.
Some will fall by the wayside, unable to replicate what they’ve achieved in China, while more will emerge next year. Ensuring that while he may be gone, Bolt’s retirement will not mean athletics is forgotten about.
