In an alternate reality, Usain Bolt might not have been the king of sprinting but a champion in the javelin throw.
After making history with his triple-triple winning nine Olympic gold medals Bolt decided to test his skills in a different event during the Rio 2016 Olympics. Once the stadium had emptied, he grabbed a javelin and gave it a shot, throwing where the world’s top javelin athletes had competed just days earlier.
Surrounded by a small group of onlookers, Bolt launched the spear an impressive 56 meters a respectable distance for a complete novice. While it was far from Thomas Röhler’s gold-medal-winning throw of 90.3m, Bolt’s attempt outperformed four competitors in the decathlon javelin event. In fact, his throw would have been enough to win the javelin portion of the women’s heptathlon, edging out Latvia’s Laura Ikauniece-Admidina’s best effort of 55.9m.
Despite his dominance on the track, Bolt’s perfect Olympic record was tarnished when he lost his ninth gold medal. In 2017, he and his Jamaican teammates were stripped of their 2008 Beijing 4x100m relay title after Nesta Carter’s doping sample tested positive for the banned stimulant methylhexaneamine. The ruling left Bolt with eight Olympic golds instead of nine.
Reflecting on the decision, Bolt remained philosophical: “Initially, I was disappointed, of course. But in life, things happen. I’m not sad… I’m just waiting to see what’s going to happen. But I gave up my medal.” Carter’s appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport was unsuccessful, sealing the fate of Bolt’s lost title.
Perhaps if Bolt ever decided to revisit javelin, he might have one last chance to reclaim that elusive ninth Olympic gold just in a different event.
Be the first to comment