No one individual has taken a sporting discipline to such heights as that of Usain Bolt since his burst on to the sprinting arena in 2007 and the stronghold he has had since with an array of world records to boast.
 
Bolt’s record breaking time of 9.58 sec in the 100m at the Berlin World Championships in 2009 was exactly one year after taking the Olympic gold in Beijing in a time of 9.69. With Bolt shaving 0.11 sec off not only his personal best but the world’s fastest ever, this was the largest ever margin of improvement in the 100m since the beginning of electronic timing.
 
In this Guinness World Records 60@60 series, we also looked at Carl Lewis who, in 1988 at the Seoul Olympic Games, ran a then fastest 100m time of 9.82 seconds. If Lewis was in the same race as Bolt in Berlin, Lewis would have finished 10 metres behind. An incredible parallel.
 
In the same meeting in Berlin, Bolt also ran the fastest 200m in a time of 19.19 seconds. Not bad for a runner who once confessed that chicken nuggets were behind his success in breaking the world record in Beijing, aged just 22 years-old.
 
His achievements at the Olympic Games in Beijing resulted in three gold medals in the 100m, 200m and 4 x 100m with Jamaica and ended with Bolt sealing his place among the greats and in the hearts of fans worldwide.

Usain Bolt graphic GWR
 
This would also lead to the rich rewards of such success and he soon became the highest paid athlete ever in track and field with sponsors queuing up for him to front various campaigns. With Bolt breaking record after record and etching off milliseconds of his times bit by bit, you can easily understand why.
 
Moreover, with 20 million people in the UK alone watching Bolt clock his second fastest time ever in Beijing, aided by his unique personality, character and, as some would argue, arrogance, helped build the perfect profile.