Bolt won the 200 at the 2002 World Junior Championships and the 2003 World Youth Championships. He placed second at both the 2006 IAAF World Cup and 2007 World Outdoor Championships.
For a long time Usain Bolt wasn’t sure he’d attempt the sprint double in the 2008 Olympics. But he made it look easy in Beijing, breezing to world record-setting victories in the 100 (9.69 seconds) and the 200 (19.30), then adding a third gold in the 4 x 100 relay for good measure.
He enjoyed several strong runs, against the wind (9.79 seconds in the 100, 19.59 in the 200), early in 2009. Then he repeated his individual success at the World Outdoor Track & Field Championships, beating his previous world marks in both the 100 (9.58) and the 200 (19.19).
Formerly a 200-meter specialist, Bolt broke the world’s 100-meter record in just his fourth attempt at that distance in world competition. He won the 100 at the Reebok Grand Prix in New York on May 31, 2008 with a time of 9.72 seconds, beating fellow Jamaican Asafa Powell’s mark of 9.74 seconds.