Michael who?

photo by hannahspanna on flickr / used under creative commons license

After the incessant repetition of the “greatest Olympian” moniker last week, there’s a new kid in town.

In Saturday’s 100m finals, Usain Bolt chopped 0.03 seconds off his own world record in the 100m. He ran 9.69 with a shoe untied, beating his chest as he showboated through the last 20m.

He left track fans wondering what if: What if he had a better start? What if there had been a bit more tail wind? What if he had maintained his form all the way through the race?

I remember reading an article when I was in high school about how sprinters had reached the limits of human speed. The world record, it posited, would be etched away a sliver at a time, not the result of perfect talent but of perfect weather, perfect tracks, perfect starts. Only the alignment of the stars could provide you with the conditions you needed to knock off a hundredth of a second and call the record yours.

This was back when the record was 9.79. Ato Bolden, former 100m medalist himself, thinks Bolt could’ve run in the 9.4s.

“Swimming has their LZR suits and their deeper pools,” says Bolden. “We have a 6-foot-5-inch guy that’s running 9.6s and beating the rest of the Olympic field by two tenths of a second. He’s our new technology.”

Bolt is forcing us to rethink what’s possible. He had a less-than-perfect start, less-than-perfect weather. He didn’t even have perfect form. A world class 200m runner for the past six years, since he won the World Junior title as a 15-year-old, Bolt is a rookie at the 100. His old world record, set earlier this season, was just his fifth attempt at the distance.

This morning–last night in Beijing–he did it again. Standing at the startline of 200m, he looked more relaxed than even the 100m, striking his now-trademark archer’s pose. But he was more serious in the race this time, running all the way through the line. Looking at the clock, he raised his hands in triumph as he crossed the line: 19.30, two-hundredths off Michael Johnson’s world record.

Johnson’s was one of the greatest world records, a full 0.3 seconds faster than the second fastest time ever. Bolt ran his new record a powerful headwind.

One more what if.

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These games have turned into a sprint battle between the U.S. and Jamaica, with the U.S. finishing out of the gold with unaccustomed frequency. Tyson Gay, last year’s world 100m champ, has one more chance to redeem himself after a lingering hamstring injury kept him out of the Olympic finals, in Friday’s 4×100m relay. Meanwhile, Bolt is looking for his third gold. With some technical prowess, you should be able circumvent NBC’s terrible coverage and schedule by watching it live here, Friday 9 AM EST.