Usain Bolt
Jamaican sprinter · Jamaica · On the map · Athletes · Born 1986 · age 40
He ran 100 metres in 9.58 seconds - a mark that still stands, more than fifteen years later. Eight Olympic golds, eleven World Championship titles, and the only sprinter to sweep the 100 m and 200 m at three straight Games.
Usain Bolt is read about 4,906 times a day, in 119 languages.
A typical day, 30 days to 10 November 2026
The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 400 days, one point a day.
Something wrong?A life in dates
Also in Deutsch
Career 2
Media & music
Photos 12
Bolt at the Crystal Palace Meeting in 2007
Bolt trailing behind Gay in the closing stages of the 200 m race, 2007
Bolt (left) on the podium with his silver medal from the 200 m race in Osaka (2007). Winner: Tyson Gay in the center.
"And a fair start, Asafa Powell, Usain Bolt is also out well. Here they come down the track. USAIN BOLT! SPRINTING AHEAD, WINNING BY DAYLIGHT!" - Tom Hammond, NBC Sports, with the call for the men's 100 metres final at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Bolt doing the "Lightning Bolt" just before breaking the 200 m world record in the Beijing National Stadium
Bolt poses and celebrates for press photographers after winning the 100 m final at the 2008 Olympics.
Bolt (centre) in the starting blocks before breaking the world record for 150 metres (14.35 seconds)Awards
About this person
Usain St. Leo Bolt was born in Jamaica on 21 August 1986 and came up as a 200 m specialist, winning world under-18 and under-20 records and a World Championship silver in 2007. The Beijing Olympics in 2008 changed everything: his international 100 m debut ended in double sprint victory and double world records, making him the first to hold both since automatic timing began. He kept winning - consecutive world titles in the 100 m, 200 m, and 4 × 100 relay from 2009 to 2015 (minus a 2011 false start), and he lowered his own 100 m record to 9.58 in 2009, the biggest improvement in the electronic era. He also reset the 200 m twice, down to 19.19, and anchored Jamaica to three relay world records. He retired after the 2017 World Championships, finishing third in his final solo 100 m and pulling up injured in the relay final.
