On a day in which Britain won three gold medals, and David Rudisha ran one of the best races in history to break the 800m world record, Usain Bolt still took centre stage. Bolt truly is the main man not only of athletics, but also in the Olympics. There is often talk about being the face of the games. For Britain Jessica Ennis received that mantle, but on the international stage there is no one comparable to the great Jamaican.
Bolt didn’t break a world record or run his very best, but just his mere presence sends the crowd into raptures and attracts the focus of journalists. Regardless of what happened yesterday Bolt was always going to take centre stage, not only in the public eye but also on national newspapers. Today’s Daily Telegraph reads “Bolt defends 200m title to be crowned the greatest”, whilst the top story in The Sun is entitled “Can’t Catch U: Usain runs into history with sprint double number 2”.
Bolt knew that the attention of the sporting world was on him. If he won, as he did, then praise would be lavished on the incredible sportsman, the greatest athlete that has ever graced the planet. But if he was defeated, outrun by his compatriot Yohan Blake or another contender, then the media would have argued that Bolt’s dominance was over. Whichever way, and whatever happened, he couldn’t escape from the limelight. Bolt is a true medis star, a likeable personality who through his enthusiasm and success has helped to boost the profile and reputation of a sport, which has been hindered by drug cheats in the past decades.
Yet believe it or not yesterday was not all about Usain Bolt. Take nothing away from the Jamaican, he ran one of the greatest 200m races in history, helping his Caribbean island take a historic clean sweep in the event. Yet the performance of the night belonged to a less well known, but equally talented Kenyan, David Rudisha. If Usain Bolt is king of the sprints, then Rudisha is emperor of the 800m.
The race that the 23 year old ran was arguably the greatest ever displayed on an Olympic stage. Rudisha strode forward with power and purpose, leaving the rest of the field trailing in his wake, as he utterly dominated the event from start to finish. Even the great Sebastian Coe can not compare to this phenomenal Kenyan, who through his efforts not only broke his own world record, but won over the hearts of a television audience, who have probably never seen such dominance in an 800m race before. All eight athletes in the field ran season and personal bests, in a superb contest. But still none of them could compete with Rudisha, who has now recorded six of the ten fastest 800m times in history.
Added to that it was another day of fantastic success for Great Britain, as our medal total has now reached 52, 25 of which have been gold. Indeed yesterday proved particularly fruitful, with Nicola Adams leading the way as she became the first female boxer to win an Olympic gold medal, as she outclassed her Chinese rival Ren Cancan in the final. In addition to this, 19 year old Jade Jones won Britain’s first ever Taekwondo gold medal, and Charlotte Dujardin prevailed in the individual dressage, both phenomenal achievements, which show Britain’s skill in a range of different sports.
It truly has been a fantastic two weeks for British sport, in which we have demonstrated that we possess some of the greatest athletes in a range of sports, from cycling and rowing to canoe slalom and shooting. Despite all of this, Usain Bolt will still remain one of the faces of the games, and his retention of his historic sprint double, will be one of the longest lasting memories, of a truly memorable Olympic Games.