A closer look at Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Nominee Usain Bolt
March 7, 2013
As Usain Bolt closed in on victory in the Olympic 200 metres final, he put one finger to his lips.
After weeks of debate as to whether he was losing his edge, he seemed to be hushing those who dared question whether he was still the best.
But as he struck his trademark ‘lightning bolt’ pose at the finish line having repeated his 2008 Olympic success by defending both 100m and 200m titles in London, there were no longer any doubts.
He was still the fastest man alive, and had taken one further step to becoming the greatest sprinter of all time.
This incredible achievement sees Bolt nominated for the 2013 Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award, an Award he has won twice before in 2009 and 2010.
Surely nobody can say the Jamaican doesn’t deserve this, his fourth Nomination. His victories in London make him the first man since Carl Lewis in 1988 to defend an Olympic sprint title and the first man in history to defend both 100m and 200m Olympic titles.
What’s more, entirely quashing any suggestion the ‘fastest man on earth’ was slowing down, Bolt ran the 100m in an Olympic record, .03 seconds faster than he had in Beijing four years earlier.
And that’s not even the end of his Olympic success. Along with Yohan Blake, the man many thought might overshadow him in London, Bolt was a vital part of the gold medal-winning Jamaican 4x100m relay team that broke their own world record on their way to victory.
Olympic legend and Laureus Academy member Michael Johnson said of Bolt: “Usain Bolt is head and shoulders above his competition. Usain is one of those rare and exceptional talents that only come along once every 10 or 20 years. In my career it took me 11 years to achieve what I did in terms of Olympic and World Championship gold medals and world records. Usain pretty much matched that in about three years. After so much success so quickly I wondered how he would find motivation, but in London he showed how much he wanted to be Olympic champion again.”
The London Olympic Games were the greatest sport event for many in 2012, but was Usain Bolt the greatest sportsman too?
Let us know if Bolt has your support and why you think he deserves the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award in the comments below.
