All hail the fastest man on earth

[1]

Usain Bolt is the ‘fastest man on earth’. His recent success and medal haul has him hog the limelight and some have gone as far as calling him the greatest athlete on the planet. Here are the reasons why they are not wrong:He is the fastest man: He is the greatest because he is the fastest (100m in 9.58 seconds). And he is the fastest by a good margin. To put his speed into perspective, the second fastest, Tyson Gay’s personal best is 9.69, a good tenth of a second slower than Usain’s. His countless medals are testament to his dominating speed. Ever since he stepped onto the track, every other runner can but dream of winning gold. Bolt’s recent haul of 8 golds and 2 silvers at the World Athletics Championships has made him the most successful athlete in the championships’ history. Records, records and more records: Most athletes dream of one day setting a world record. Some manage to set one, others manage to match it and some fall short by the nearest of margins. Usain Bolt doesn’t have one world record—he has three. He has the world record in 100m, 200m, and 4x100m events. He may have to share the last record with Yohan Blake, Michael Frater and Nesta Carter, but it still counts as a record under his belt.He puts on a show: Usain can walk up to the start line, take his stance, run and still win. But that doesn’t wow the spectators and that isn’t what Bolt does. During the Anniversary games in London, Usain arrived on a rocket. He knows the race is going to last just a few seconds and everything from his lightning poses to his grand entrances is proof he knows how to put on a show and give the spectators their money’s worth and more.He is a masterpiece:  Usain Bolt’s pace is mystifying. Despite always staring late, Bolt still manages to win, quite easily. During the run where he set the world record, Usain Bolt was the second slowest to react to the starting gun. He reacted in 0.146 seconds compared to the 0.119 of the speediest reaction.  He is also significantly taller than his competitors. Both Justin Gatlin and Tyson Gay are 5 feet 10 inches while Usain Bolt towers over them at 6 feet 5 inches. While most consider being tall a disadvantage when it comes to running, Bolt is among the few who has been able to use it to his advantage.No additives: Many an athletes have fallen prey to drug-related allegations. Everyone from Ben Johnson and Marion Jones to Tyson Gay and Justin Gatlin have made headlines for trying to gain an unfair advantage through performance-enhancing drugs. Nothing can ruin one’s reputation faster than getting caught using such drugs. If in doubt, ask Lance Armstrong. Usain, on the other hand, has been able to keep himself far from such news. Never has he been as much as accused of taking performance-enhancing drugs.