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Usain Bolt (born August 21, 1986) is a retired Jamaican sprinter widely regarded as the best sprinter of all time. He holds world records in the 100 meter dash, 200 meter dash, and 4 x 100 meter relay. Bolt excelled as a cricket fast bowler in his preteen years, the son of grocers in Jamaica's rural Trelawny parish. His passion for the European football (soccer) teams Real Madrid and Manchester United grew over time, but his high school coaches encouraged him to pursue track and field. At the 2002 global junior championships, Bolt established himself as a track prodigy. Bolt, then 15 years old, won gold in the 200 meters in front of a crowd of 36,000 at Jamaica's National Stadium in Kingston, becoming the youngest-ever male world junior winner in any event. Bolt set the junior (under 19) 200-meter world record of 20.13 seconds at the age of 16, and then ran the event in 19.93 seconds at the age of 17, becoming the first teenager to break the 20-second barrier in the event.
Bolt bucked the common idea that very tall sprinters are handicapped as fast starters, standing at 6 feet 5 inches (1.96 meters). He appeared to be more committed to his training in 2007, winning a silver medal in the 200 meters at the World Championships. He also persuaded his coach to allow him try the 100 meters, and in his first professional race at the distance, he ran 10.03 seconds. Bolt, an eight-time Olympic gold medalist, is the only sprinter to win the Olympic 100 m and 200 m titles three times in a row (2008, 2012 and 2016). He also won two gold medals in the 4 x 100 relay. He became famous around the world after winning two world records at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, making him the first individual to hold both marks since fully automatic timing became mandatory. From 2009 to 2015, he was an eleven-time World Champion, winning gold medals in the 100 m, 200 m, and 4 x 100 m relay at the World Championships except for a 100 meter botched start in 2011. He is the World Championships' most successful male athlete. Bolt is the first athlete to win four World Championship medals in the 200 meters and has three World Championship titles in the 100 meters. After hurting his hamstring in the final of the 2017 World Championships, he retired from sports. He earned a bronze medal in the 100-meter sprint and placed eighth as a member of the 4 x 100-meter relay team. In 2010, Bolt released My Story: 9:58: The World's Fastest Man, a memoir co-written with Shaun Custis. The Fastest Man Alive: The True Story of Usain Bolt was expanded and released in 2012 as The Fastest Man Alive: The True Story of Usain Bolt.
In full Delorez regalia, Florence Griffith Joyner Florence Griffith Joyner (December 21, 1959, Los Angeles, California, United States—September 21, 1998, Mission Viejo, California) was an American sprinter who established world marks in the 100 and 200 meters (10.49 and 21.34 seconds, respectively) that have stood since 1988. Griffith began running when she was seven years old, chasing jackrabbits to improve her speed. She began training with coach Bob Kersee at the University of California, Los Angeles (B.A., 1983) in 1980. She earned a silver medal in the 200-meter dash at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, and her 6-inch (15-cm) painted fingernails and eye-catching racing attire rapidly made her a media sensation. She moved into semiretirement after being dissatisfied with her performance. She recommitted herself to the sport in 1987, adopting a rigorous weight-training regimen and changing her starting style. In the same year, she married Al Joyner, the 1984 Olympic triple jump gold medalist and brother of heptathlon champion Jackie Joyner-Kersee. The changes had a significant impact.
Griffith Joyner broke a world record in the 100-meter sprint (10.49 seconds) at the 1988 Olympic trials, beating the previous mark by 0.27 second and improving her previous best by more than half a second. She won three gold medals (100 meters, 200 meters, and four-by-four 100-meter relay) and a silver (4-by-four 400-meter relay) at the Olympics in Seoul later that year. Griffith Joyner won the Sullivan Award for best amateur performer in the United States in 1988. Despite the fact that her outstanding performances aroused rumors of steroid use, drug tests found no illegal drugs in her system. Griffith Joyner founded a foundation for poor children after retiring in 1989 and served as co-chair of the President's Council on Physical Fitness from 1993 to 1995. In 1996, a return attempt was cut short due to a leg injury. In 1995, she was inducted into the National Track & Field Hall of Fame. Griffith-Joyner remained a pop culture presence after retiring from athletics, thanks to endorsement deals, acting, and design. She died in her sleep in 1998, at the age of 38, as a result of an epileptic seizure.
