A breed apart

It is no more than we have come to expect from a man for whom, as the Adidas slogan states, 'impossible is nothing'.

Usain Bolt may have been a fraction below the kind of form he was in last summer in Beijing, due to missing a month's training after writing off his car earlier in the year. He admitted to feeling a bit tired after his exploits in the 100 metres on Sunday. And he was clearly tying up in the last 30 metres of last night's 200 metres final as he struggled against a 0.3 m/s headwind and wearying legs.

Nonetheless, he crossed the line more than five metres ahead of the rest of the field, recording a time of 19.19s and lowering his world record by the same margin - 0.11s - as he had done in the 100 four days earlier. (He now holds three of the five fastest times in history; only two other men - Michael Johnson and Tyson Gay – have run under 19.6s.)

Now imagine what he might do with a full training schedule under his belt, a legal tailwind and the benefit of focussing - as he suggested he may do one day - solely on the 200.

Is the mythical 19 second barrier breakable?

Surely, barring serious injury, it is now a matter of when rather than if?

In the meantime, it's best that we marvel at the superhuman exploits of a man whose races are simultaneously utterly predictable and delightfully mesmerising. Bolt is now the only man ever to concurrently hold both World and Olympic titles at both the 100 and 200. He has broken the world record in the former three times; the latter, twice. And don’t forget that he will also run in the 4x100 metre relay, where he will be odds-on to complete a second major championship hat-trick on Saturday night.

There is no question that Usain Bolt is a freakish, exceptional talent. Despite all the publicised deficiencies and failings in Jamaican drug-testing, I want to believe – make that: I do believe – in the fairy-tale, just as I believe in Lance Armstrong.

Because that’s what sport is all about - the celebration of excellence, and the glorification of the truly exceptional. Lance Armstrong. Michael Schumacher. Sir Steven Redgrave. Usain Bolt.

A breed apart.