"Bolt stumbled at the start but later pulled away to cross the line ahead of his countymen Nesta Carter who was placed second in 9.96 and Kemar Bailey Cole who set a new personal best 9.97 to be placed third."
http://jamaica-gleaner.com/latest/article.php?id=39761I didn't see a stumble, a horrible start though. So much for WR with that kind of start.
He landed on the end of his toe on his first stride.
He told the BBC that he was tired and just going through the motions for the crowd.
He's DJ'ing a concert in the stadium afterwards.
Bolt "goes through the motions" and sprints 9.86
This guy really is invincible.
I didn't see a stumble either, all I saw was a guy who sprinted a relatively easy 9.86 for the victory, which is sickening to anybody who has competed in the 100m.
What a peaceful way for him to end a championship season.
There was a sort of grace to this race, an elegance that only the legend Bolt could be capable of. People don't really care what time he runs, he has transcended times. He is the ONE.
It doesn't matter if somebody like Blake will soon break his WR's, everybody will still care only about Bolt, he is that big.
I'm sorry, there are really only 4 giants in the 100m:
Owens
Lewis
Johnson
Bolt
Here's how I figure that:
After one of the athletes finished, people referenced basically that athlete only, until the next one on the list came along, whereupon the new athlete was referenced to the former.
Owens was the first. He was the big thing until Lewis.
Lewis was always referenced to Owens, seen as the second coming. He was the big thing until Johnson.
Johnson was always referenced to Lewis, seen as the humble giant slayer. He was the big thing until Bolt.
Bolt. Jamaican, like Johnson. Miles ahead of everybody else, like Johnson. People have invested him with mystique and hero qualities, like Johnson. Nobody quite knows his limits, like Johnson. Nobody in the intervening time has mattered as much, they were all merely human, and although fast, not transcendent.
I feel lucky to have been alive when 3 of these 4 guys were racing.
Collins, hovering just above 10.00 again, with essentially no wind (+0.3 IIRC) He looked hilarious running next to Bolt, he looked like a Mini-Me.
How about Carter?! OK, his time wasn't world-beating, but he ran WELL for the silver. Very nice.
Ashmeade? Vicaut? Bueller? Bueller? Anyone?
I expected better from Ashmeade but had no doubts that WRs would not be threatened. Bolt runs to win and if the WR comes down, that's gravy on his plate. As you can see, he was sleeping at the start, but we must remember, he said he didn't care so much about the start anymore. That's a combo of his FS wariness and knowing that he can make up ground on anyone. His drive phase is insane. With such bad reaction time and slowing up for the last 10m, running 9.86 is nothing short of amazing.
I only hope he retires on top before age and back issues get the best of him.
I've said it before, Bolt is just a unique specimen. He has the leg turnover of a typical 5-10/5-11 sprinter with the advantage of a longer, much longer stride length. It is like having a 9 year old competing against 5-6 year old kids on the playground. He just physically in terms of height and size towers above his rivals and he really only needs to be at 85%-90% fit to beat just about any field.
Whaaat--
"With such bad reaction time and slowing up for the last 10m, running 9.86 is nothing short of amazing."
+1
End of season. What will next year bring? 400m? LJ?
Might we see Bolt try some indoor LJ just for fun?