Usain Bolt was “Born 21 August 1986 in Sherwood Content, Trelawny (JAM),” Olympedia says. “Bolt was born to parents Wellesley and Jennifer, in Trelawny Parish, on the north coast of Jamaica. A rural area,” The Observer wrote in 2008, and “Bolt’s first true love was cricket, not athletics.” “The first time I saw Usain bowling I knew he was a born sprinter, he was so fast,” Pablo McNeil told the paper. “But he was so cricket-mad that he took a bit of persuading.” Elton Tucker of The Gleaner put it simply: “Usain and Asafa, we call them country boys.” “Usain Bolt first came to international attention when he won the 200 metres at the 2002 World Junior Championships,” Olympedia says; he was 15.
BBC Sport described “Bolt, who suffers from scoliosis,” in 2012 as having “a condition in which the spine is curved from side to side.” The Jamaica Observer, reporting his autobiography, wrote of “scoliosis — a condition that curved Bolt’s spine to the right and made his right leg half an inch shorter than his left.” Asked by ESPN The Magazine in 2011 how it had affected his training, Bolt said it wasn’t really a problem when he was younger, but that it got worse as he grew, and that it hampered him because he got injured every year. “Bolt started his career hampered by injury and, sadly, has finished with an injury too,” World Athletics wrote in 2017.
“Success brought Bolt a move to Kingston, but his popularity proved a distraction and he spent more time partying than training,” The Observer says, and “at key moments Bolt was plagued by injuries – at the 2004 Olympics and the 2005 World Championships in Helsinki.” In Athens, “He competed at the 2004 Olympics in that event but failed to get out of the early rounds,” Olympedia says; its results list round one on August 24, 2004, with Bolt fifth in heat 4 in 21.05 seconds. What made the difference, in The Observer’s words, was “the strict influence of his current coach, Glen Mills,” after “they began working together in 2005”; Mills was “Known as a disciplinarian.” Bolt told ESPN that keeping his core and back strong is how he manages the scoliosis, so that he doesn’t have to worry about it as long as he works hard.
On August 16, 2008, in the Olympic 100 meters final in Beijing, “Bolt was well clear at 60m and although he eased down and started to celebrate 15 metres from the line, he still set a new mark of 9.69 seconds,” BBC Sport reported. “By 80 metres he had a huge lead and he then shut it down, turning around, dropping his arms in celebration, and costing himself some time,” Olympedia says. “His left shoe was untied when he crossed the finish line,” the Associated Press reported; in Andscape’s words, “Bolt won the race after a slow start out of the blocks and with his shoelace untied.” A year later, the IAAF reported, “Usain Bolt set a new 100m World record of 9.58 on the second evening of the 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin.” “The 22-year-old Jamaican knocked a mind-numbing 0.11 second from the 9.69 record he set at the Olympic Games in Beijing exactly one year ago today,” and “this time Bolt ran hard to the line.”
At one point, Olympedia says, “This seemed to give him nine gold medals.” But “shortly before Rio, Bolt’s teammate on the 2008 relay, Nesta Carter, was revealed to have a positive doping test at Beijing. In January 2017, Carter was sanctioned and disqualified, which also led Jamaica to lose that gold medal, bringing Bolt’s total down to eight golds.” “Now retired, Bolt excited about the next chapter,” World Athletics headlined on August 14, 2017. Olympedia still lists him as the 100 meters world record holder from “31 May 2008 - present,” with “9.58 (16 August 2009; Berlin, GER; World Championships; Final.),” and as the 200 meters world record holder from “20 August 2008 - present.” The boy with the curved spine is still the fastest man ever timed.
Fact check
The facts and where they come from
- He has a curved spine, but no human has ever run faster. BBC Sport: “Bolt, who suffers from scoliosis” … “a condition in which the spine is curved from side to side.” Jamaica Observer: “scoliosis — a condition that curved Bolt’s spine to the right and made his right leg half an inch shorter than his left, according to his autobiography.” Olympedia lists his 100 meters world records “31 May 2008 - present,” the last “9.58 (16 August 2009; Berlin, GER; World Championships; Final.),” and his 200 meters world records “20 August 2008 - present.” 651
- His name is Usain Bolt, a sprinter from Jamaica. Olympedia: “Born 21 August 1986 in Sherwood Content, Trelawny (JAM).” 1
- A Jamaican country boy, he loved cricket, until a coach saw his speed. The Observer: “Bolt was born to parents Wellesley and Jennifer, in Trelawny Parish, on the north coast of Jamaica. A rural area” … “But Bolt’s first true love was cricket, not athletics.” Pablo McNeil, quoted by The Observer: “The first time I saw Usain bowling I knew he was a born sprinter, he was so fast” … “But he was so cricket-mad that he took a bit of persuading.” Elton Tucker of The Gleaner, quoted by The Observer: “Usain and Asafa, we call them country boys.” 4
- At 15, he was world junior champion. Olympedia: “Usain Bolt first came to international attention when he won the 200 metres at the 2002 World Junior Championships”; he was “Born 21 August 1986.” 1
- But his spine curved, leaving his right leg half an inch shorter. Jamaica Observer: “scoliosis — a condition that curved Bolt’s spine to the right and made his right leg half an inch shorter than his left, according to his autobiography.” 5
- As he grew, he said, it got worse, and injuries came every year. ESPN The Magazine (2011): asked how scoliosis had affected his training, Bolt said it wasn’t really a problem when he was younger, but that it got worse as he grew, and that it hampered him because he got injured every year. World Athletics: “Bolt started his career hampered by injury and, sadly, has finished with an injury too.” 712
- At his first Olympics, he went out in round one. Olympedia: “He competed at the 2004 Olympics in that event but failed to get out of the early rounds.” Olympedia’s 2004 results: “Round One Date 24 August 2004”; “Usain Bolt JAM 21.05 (5 h4)” (fifth in heat 4). The Observer: “at key moments Bolt was plagued by injuries – at the 2004 Olympics and the 2005 World Championships in Helsinki.” 134
- Then, with a tough new coach, he built up his core and back. The Observer: “the strict influence of his current coach, Glen Mills, that made the difference after they began working together in 2005. Known as a disciplinarian.” ESPN The Magazine (2011): Bolt said that keeping his core and back strong is how he manages the scoliosis, so that he doesn’t have to worry about it as long as he works hard. 47
- Beijing, 2008, the Olympic 100 meters final. Olympedia: “16 August 2008 … 100 metres, Men … Final Round … 9.69 (0.0 m/s) WR.” 1
- So far ahead, he started celebrating 15 meters early. BBC Sport: “Bolt was well clear at 60m and although he eased down and started to celebrate 15 metres from the line, he still set a new mark of 9.69 seconds.” Olympedia: “By 80 metres he had a huge lead and he then shut it down, turning around, dropping his arms in celebration, and costing himself some time.” 82
- His left shoe was untied. Associated Press: “His left shoe was untied when he crossed the finish line.” Andscape: “Bolt won the race after a slow start out of the blocks and with his shoelace untied.” 910
- He still broke the world record. Olympedia: “winning with ease in a world record time of 9.69, despite easing down in the final metres to celebrate.” 1
- A year later in Berlin, he ran hard to the line: 9.58. IAAF: “Usain Bolt set a new 100m World record of 9.58 on the second evening of the 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin.” … “The 22-year-old Jamaican knocked a mind-numbing 0.11 second from the 9.69 record he set at the Olympic Games in Beijing exactly one year ago today.” … “this time Bolt ran hard to the line.” 11
- He retired with eight Olympic golds, and the record still stands. Olympedia: medals “Gold 8”; “This seemed to give him nine gold medals” … “However, shortly before Rio, Bolt’s teammate on the 2008 relay, Nesta Carter, was revealed to have a positive doping test at Beijing. In January 2017, Carter was sanctioned and disqualified, which also led Jamaica to lose that gold medal, bringing Bolt’s total down to eight golds.” World Athletics, August 14, 2017: “Now retired, Bolt excited about the next chapter.” 112
- The boy with the curved spine is still the fastest man ever. Olympedia lists him as 100 meters world record holder “31 May 2008 - present,” with “9.58 (16 August 2009; Berlin, GER; World Championships; Final.).” Wikipedia’s men’s 100 meters world record progression also ends with his 9.58. 113
Sources
- Usain Bolt Olympedia
- 100 metres, Men, 2008 Summer Olympics Olympedia
- 200 metres, Men, 2004 Summer Olympics Olympedia
- Olympics: Jamaican speed freak (Anna Kessel, August 24, 2008) The Observer
- Study suggests Bolt’s ‘uneven stride’ makes him fast (July 20, 2017) Jamaica Observer
- London 2012: Usain Bolt fitness confirmed by Jamaica team doctor BBC Sport
- Usain Bolt, Interview Issue (2011) ESPN The Magazine
- Beijing 2008 men’s 100 m final report (August 16, 2008) BBC Sport
- Associated Press report of the 2008 Olympic 100 m final (August 16, 2008) The Honolulu Advertiser archive
- The day Usain Bolt won his first Olympic gold medal Andscape
- Bolt again! 9.58 World record in Berlin! (August 16, 2009, archived) IAAF
- Now retired, Bolt excited about the next chapter (August 14, 2017) World Athletics
- Men’s 100 metres world record progression Wikipedia
Notes
Born with it? The Short says he has a curved spine, not that he was born with one: no reliable source in our research says he was born with scoliosis, and by his own account to ESPN it wasn’t really a problem when he was young and got worse as he grew. Which way it curves: the Jamaica Observer, from his autobiography, says to the right; some other sites say left, so the Short says only that it curved and left his right leg half an inch shorter.
ESPN: the 2011 interview page is built by script and couldn’t be saved as text, so the Short and this page give what he said there as a paraphrase, not as a quote.
“At 15”: Olympedia gives his birth date, August 21, 1986, and his 200 meters title at the 2002 World Junior Championships; the Short’s “at fifteen” is worked out from those.
“No human has ever run faster”: both the 100 meters and the 200 meters world records are still his (Olympedia); the Short claims no more than that.
The Short doesn’t call him lazy; this page gives only The Observer’s line about his time in Kingston. Estimates of what he might have run in Beijing had he not slowed down are left out.
The 2008 relay: Jamaica’s gold was withdrawn in January 2017 after his teammate Nesta Carter’s positive doping test from Beijing (Olympedia); the case concerned Carter’s test, not Bolt’s. The Short gives his official total, eight.
Left out: his family beyond his parents’ names, his private life and money.
Pictures: Usain Bolt himself is in Augustas Didžgalvis’s close-up at the 2013 World Championships in Moscow, in Phil McElhinney’s photo of a race on August 3, 2007, in Eckhard Pecher’s photo at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, and at Brunel University, London, on July 30, 2009. There is no free photo of him as a boy, at the 2002 World Juniors or in his 2004 heat. The 2008 Olympic 100 meters final is seen at the line from high in the stands by Bob Denaro; Richard Giles photographed him and his gold spikes after the race (the lace can’t be seen), and Jmex60 his celebration that night. The Bird’s Nest is shown on the day of the final (Jmex60) and at night (Bob Denaro). The Athens Olympic Stadium is shown during the 10,000 meters final on August 20, 2004, four days before his heat, not his race (US Air Force). The Berlin Olympic Stadium is shown on August 16, 2009, the day of the 9.58 (Tobi 87); Grzegorz Jereczek’s photo of Bolt in Berlin is from the 200 meters final on August 20, 2009, not the 9.58. Fernando Frazão of Agência Brasil photographed him after the 100 meters final at the Rio 2016 Olympics and with his 4 × 100 meters relay gold medal in August 2016. Rio Bueno, a town in his home parish of Trelawny, not his home village, was photographed in 2011. The spine is a Blausen Medical illustration of scoliosis, not his spine.
Photo credits
The archive photos in this story
The photographs and illustrations in this story are in the public domain or shared under open licenses; each one is credited below with its license. Tap one to enlarge it, or follow the link to its Wikimedia Commons page for the full record. The narration, captions and graphics in the Short are our own; its music and sound effects are credited below.
Music and sound effects
Music: Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition: IV. Bydlo (piano) (Musopen, public domain); Grieg, Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46: IV. In the Hall of the Mountain King (Musopen Symphony Orchestra, public domain); Brahms, Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 73: IV. Allegro con spirito (Musopen Symphony Orchestra, CC0).
Sound effects: Freesound, CC0.
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