my olympic heroes: part 3 - i am number one

there is no question we witnessed greatness. the historic.  the confident. the freakishly tall sprinter,  usain "king carl watch out" bolt busted on the olympic scene in the 100. world record. (he broke his own).  he had time to look around, pound his chest and write a poem to his equally proud mother.  two tenths of a second. two... tenths of a second.  really? who does that?  my memories from that night are him repeatedly saying, "i'm just happy."  truth. 

the 200 hundred.  the same zeal. the same passion. the same speed. our wonderful nbc announcers "had done the math" and his spilts should be good enough but was his mind ready? in his normally playful self, bolt was cutting up, actin' a fool before the meet and then, the silence.  a wave of seriousness struck usain and he was ready.  the gun. great start.  off the turn. yards away.  two tenths of a second.  world record.  this time, i think he would agree, he had to push the end a bit to break michael johnson's illusive 200 record. 

4 x 100 relay- crushed. all the jamaicans needed were to take the opposite path  of their american counterparts and pass the baton around the track.  they did. with the style and grace of the reggae beat; the jamaican team crushed the "unbreakable" 1980 record.   everyone knew they could do it but as their women's side showed, there are no guarantees in relays.  hats off gentlemen and extra hat tipped to the anchor, mr. powell. he has served his country with the quiet power of a champion.  cheers to all of you.

there is a rumor following great britain's taunting anchor in the 4 x 400 meter relay.  bolt who was long raised as a 400 runner (a true prototype for that) and with any fire that the brits may have instilled in him would be ready for a passioned fight.  could bolt come back for a fourth olympic gold. time will tell and all i know is i would not want a ticked off usain bolt walking me down on a relay.

we'll see if there is indeed a part four to one of my favorite series of posts to write.