The saying has it that "Lightning never strikes twice in the same place". That theory was put to rest when Jamaican sprinter Usain "Lightning" Bolt struck gold in both the 100- and 200-meter dashes at the Beijing Olympics.
The world's fastest human, Bolt, returned to training on Tuesday to begin preparing for the London Games.
"Today was a great day at training," Bolt said via Twitter. "It was a good feeling to be back in action."
In 2008, millions watched from around the world as Bolt effortlessly set the world record in the 100-meter dash, while pounding his chest the last five meters, before crossing the finish line in an astonishing time of 9.69 seconds.
Who says lightning doesn't strike the same place twice?
Just days later, Bolt made history again -- this time in the 200. Running out of lane 5, Bolt blasted out of the starting blocks, making up the stagger on the outside runners with ease.
Bolt increased his lead heading into the home stretch, using all his energy in the final stages of the race to run a 19.30 into a headwind of 0.9m/s, surpassing former great Michael Johnson's time (19.32) en route to the world record.
After the Olympics, critics questioned Bolt's ability to run even faster with better conditions and no early celebration. A year later at the World Championships in Berlin, Bolt smashed both of his world records with times of 9.58 (100-meter) and 19.19 (200-meter), respectively.
Describing 2010 as "a down year" after suffering his first loss in awhile — to American Tyson Gay — Bolt entered the 2011 campaign with high expectations to defend his world titles in Daegu. His high expectations were shattered after being disqualified for a false start in the 100-meter finals.
Bolt stood in disbelief after his disqualification. His false start revealed that even the best make mistakes.
Bolt, however, shook off the disappointment and went on to win the 200-meter in 19.40. On the final day of competition, he anchored Jamaica's winning 400-meter relay team to a world-setting performance of 37.04.
Bolt will face stiff competition in London from Gay and fellow countryman Yohan Blake.
Gay, who ended the 2011 season at the US Championships do to a groin injury, will be Bolt's biggest threat at 100-meters. Gay owns the second fastest-time in history at 9.69.
Blake will challenge Bolt in the 200-meter. Blake trains with Bolt and was the surprise 100-meter world champion in Daegu and owns the second-fastest time in history over 200 meters in 19.26
David Pickett - David is a contributing writer covering professional and college sports, including baseball, basketball, football and the Olympics.
