It’s hard to believe Usain Bolt only started competing in the 100 metres one year prior to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. At 6ft 5in, Bolt was told he was too tall to be a successful sprinter and was instead encouraged to race across 200m and 400m. Can you imagine if he'd listened? While the Jamaican showed talent across these distances, the young star was desperate to give the 100m a go, despite the advice he was given.
After a disappointing showing at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games , where Bolt was hampered by injury and didn’t make it out of the 200m heats, he made a deal with his coaches. Bolt would race across 100m during a minor athletics event in Greece in July 2007. If he could run faster than 10.
30 seconds, he would be able to drop the 400m and focus on shorter distances. Bolt smashed his target time, winning the race in 10.03.
It was decided. Bolt would be able to race across 100m, but there was just 12 months to go until the Olympic Games in Beijing. Despite the short build-up, Bolt produced one of the most astonishing performances in the history of track and field - and he was just getting started .
Bolt started putting in the work for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games immediately, hitting the weights to increase his explosiveness and power. He finished with 200m and 4x100m silver medals at the World Athletics Championships in August 2007, before starting to show real improvements in the 100m at the start of 2008. He went under 10 seconds for the first time in Ma.
