media_artricles :: 2016

ONE TO GO!

Bolt on verge of 'triple-treble'

Usain Bolt is on the verge of achieving the "triple-treble", an unprecedented three sprint titles at three Olympic Games.

The Jamaican sprint legend captured gold medal number eight with a dominant performance in the Rio 2016 men's 200 metres final, at the Joao Havelange Olympic Stadium, here in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, last night.

Bolt got out of the blocks aggressively, coming off the turn in full command. With only the clock as a challenger, the 29-year-old sprinter put in a huge effort on the straight. His immediate reaction on crossing the finish line was disappointment, the 19.78 seconds winning time falling well short of his ridiculously high standards.

But though he was more than half a second outside his 19.19 seconds world record, the job had been completed. Already a three-time Olympic 100m champion, Bolt is now a triple gold medallist in the longer sprint. A third sprint relay gold at the Olympic Stadium tonight, and the "triple-treble" would be all wrapped up.

Video Courtesy of CCN TV6

Oh, there were seven other sprinters in last night's half-lap final. Canadian Andre de Grasse was the best of the rest, claiming silver in 20.02 seconds to go with his 100m bronze.

And what a keen contest there was for 200m bronze. Frenchman Christophe Lemaitre and Briton Adam Gemili were credited with the same time, 20.12. But there was joy for one and sorrow for the other, Lemaitre getting the nod in the photo finish to earn his first individual Olympic medal.

There was a heavy downpour some 20 minutes before the "Bolt Show", perhaps an indicator from the heavens that another special moment in history was at hand. Bolt ensured there would be no change to the script as he strides ever so confidently to the historic "triple-treble".

The journey started on August 16, 2008 in the Chinese city of Beijing, a 21-year-old Bolt capturing his first Olympic 100m title with a then world record of 9.69 seconds. It was clear then that he was something special.

Eight years later, and special has evolved into extraordinary, with Bolt one race away from sporting immortality with the previously unimaginable "triple-treble".

But sprint relay gold or not, at the Olympic Stadium tonight, there's the potential for a twist in the tail. Nesta Carter's retrospective drug positive could lead to Jamaica being stripped of their Beijing 4x1 gold, robbing Bolt of the "triple-treble" accolade.

In that eventuality, Bolt's loss would be Trinidad and Tobago's gain, with silver medallists Keston Bledman, Marc Burns, Emmanuel Callender and Richard "Torpedo" Thompson next in line for that Olympic title.

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