'Greatness Code' Episode 4: Usain Bolt breaks down secret to success behind 100m world record of 9.58 seconds
It was the IAAF Championships in 2009. The crowd was raucous, buzzing and Usain Bolt could feel the energy when he walked onto the track field. "Bolt! Bolt!" reverberated throughout the arena, something the champion says he lives for. He has even said that in his book, 'Faster Than Lightning'. "When I am in the block, I try to not think of anything, just clear your mind," he says in the 'Greatness Code'. While for the world, it was a whirlwind of arms and legs hurtling across the track, it was actually slow frame-by-frame breakup for Bolt. At that time, Tyson Gay was his biggest competitor. "He was right beside me," he remembers. "30 meters I knew I had the momentum," by the time he put in more distance, it was all about pulling away from the pack and pull away he did as Bolt set the world record of 9.58 seconds in Berlin.
The final was the first time Bolt and Gay had met during the season and the former set a new world record to win his first World Championship gold medal. "That is the most incredible piece of sprinting," the commentator screamed while Bolt soaked in the applause. For Bolt, it was all about the attitude an athlete brought to the game. The more confident and calm an athlete is, the higher the rate of success and that was his mantra. He played for the crowd and there was something they could look forward to when Bolt steadied himself to race and set the track on fire, and when greatness was when he did that.
Bolt retired in 2017 and that was heartbreaking news for the world. But in the episode, the athlete had done all he could and he was at that stage where he knew he could call time in career. The episode feels like an ultra-condensed version of 'Faster Than Lightning,' but the short gives aspiring athletes the advice they need the most in any sport they play. And it's easy and quick, just like Bolt. What are your thoughts on Usain Bolt's episode in the 'Greatness Code'?
'Greatness Code' is available for streaming on Apple TV+.