02
03
»
BOLT CAN RUN
AT A TOP SPEEDOF
43.72KMH (27MPH),
AND PRODUCE 81.58KJ
OF KINETIC ENERGY
– THAT’S 50 TIMES
GREATER THAN A
BULLET EXITING
AMAGNUMHANDGUN.
PHOTO
CORBIS, GETTY
mention one of the hardest working – you could say
he’s entitled to some downtime. During the 2013 season,
the Jamaican ventured from competitions in Rome and
Oslo to Paris, Kingston and London, defeating rivals and
electrifying crowds with his dancing and showmanship,
before winning three gold medals at the World Athletics
Championships 2013 in Moscow in August.
With these wins, he became the most successful
athlete in the history of the competition (he now has
eight of its gold and two of its silver medals), cementing
his status as the greatest sprinter ever. For anyone who’s
watched him lope effortlessly to victory, it begs the
question: just what makes him faster than any of the 107
billion human beings who have walked the Earth? A
study by the National Autonomous University of Mexico
showed that
“He’s changed our perception of
human capabilities,” says Dr Reza Noubary, an expert in
statistics at Bloomberg University in Pennsylvania, USA.
Scientists have proposed various theories. Some look
at his physical gifts, with his 1.95m (6’5”) frame and 94kg
physique providing piston-like limbs and explosive
power. “He is such an unusual physical specimen that
one need not look beyond that for an explanation of his
speed,” says Dr Mark Denny, an expert in human
locomotion at Stanford University. Bolt took 41 strides
JET-SET BOLT
01
DJing in Lausanne
02
The sprinter turns
snapper after winning
at the London Games
03
Posing in a Ferrari
458 Italia
04
Arriving at Sydney’s
World Champion’s
Charity Ball
U S A I N B O L T
0 9 3
