Usain Bolt Wants EVERY Record

Along with having possibly the greatest name in the history of sport, Jamaican sprinter Usain “Lightning” Bolt also had arguably the greatest single Olympics of any sprinter in history with his performance in Beijing. He won gold in the 100 meters and set the world record despite pulling up to celebrate with about 10 meters to go. He then broke Michael Johnson’s legendary record in the 200 meters that had stood for twelve years dating back to the Atlanta Games by running an amazing 19.30 in the 200m final at Beijing.

Add to that his victory with the Jamaican team in the 4x100 (another world record) and you have an astonishing Olympics involving three golds and three mind-blowing, world-record-setting performances.

And it seems that His Lightning-ness isn’t finished, not with world records, and not with Michael Johnson. He’s now talking about training for the 400, with an eye towards taking down Johnson’s 400-meter world record of 43.18, which has stood on the books for nine years.

I ask you -- after what he did so effortlessly in Beijing, is there anyone in the world who doesn’t think that, if he sets his mind to it, Usain Bolt will rule the 400-meter roost and become the first man ever to simultaneously hold the 100, 200 and 400-meter world records? My estimation of Bolt as an athlete is so high that I say poor Michael Johnson is just the beginning of his victim list.

I tend to think that all record-holders of what are now considered unbreakable records, regardless of the sport, should be worrying about Bolt. You hear that Wayne Gretzky? How about you, ghost of Joe DiMaggio? And you, Jerry Rice, you should be the most worried of all, because at 6’5”, 200 pounds, if The Bolt decides to line up at wideout any time soon, he’s going to make Terrell Owens seem like Pop Warner material out there. Hell, I even think Tiger might want to forget about Phil and concentrate his anxieties on Insane Usain, lest he take into his mind to pick up a golf club in the next few years.

This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.