In the history of World Athletics, 16 August, 2009, bears special significance. 13 years ago, on this day, Usain Bolt ran 100 metres in 9.58 seconds in the final of the World Athletics Championship to break his own world record. The Jamaican stunned the Berlin crowd by effortlessly surpassing his previous best of 9.69 seconds which he had clocked at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Bolt’s major rivals - America’s Tyson Gay and Jamaica’s Asafa Powell finished second and third respectively. Their aspirations of defeating Bolt were quickly dashed as the Olympic champion just blew the competition out of the water.
In the semi-final, a day prior, Bolt jogged to victory while seemingly trying to conserve energy for a strong performance in the final. If that was his strategy, it worked out beautifully. Even there, he made a false start, which meant automatic disqualification for anyone else who made a similar mistake in the future. The unfortunate person was English sprinter Tyrone Edgar, who admitted his displeasure about missing out. Bolt ignored the delays and launched himself into the race, then slowed down to a timing of 9.89 seconds.
Bolt raced forward at the start of the final, grabbing control of the contest after just 30 metres, signalling that something spectacular could be in store for the competition. It was just a matter of time before Bolt shattered the record.
As he sped past the finish line at Berlin's Olympic Stadium, the crowd went crazy after watching Bolt’s iconic ‘to the world’ pose.
The only consolation for Tyson Gay was that he beat the 9.77-second American record with a run of 9.71 while another American, Dwain Chambers finished sixth with a time of 10.00 seconds, which was a season best for him. Bolt’s teammate Powell bagged the bronze after completing the race in 9.84 seconds.
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