Synonymous with the Olympics no event is more enduring than athletics’ 100 meters. The Olympic Series: The Olympic Spirit, 2007
One of the most celebrated examples of this occurred at the Mexico City games of 1968 when America’s Jim Hines became the first man to break the ten second barrier with a run of 9.95. The record stood for fifteen years. ibid.
At 2012 Bolt will be twenty-five years old. ibid.
The fastest man who has ever lived ... Triple world record holder. Can Anyone Beat Bolt? BBC 2012
Usain Bolt is a phenomenon. He runs faster than scientists thought possible. And made winning the world’s greatest race easy. ibid.
He’s a wonder of the world. At six foot five he can reach speeds of nearly thirty miles an hour. ibid.
Winning gold in the Olympic games is every athlete’s greatest dream. Usain Bolt has already achieved that dream three times. This year at the 2012 Olympics he has the chance to go one step further – Bolt could be the first sprinter in history to win gold in the 100, 200 and 100-metre relay in two consecutive games. Usain Bolt: The Fastest Man Alive, BBC 2012
On 11th April 2004 Bolt shattered the 200m junior world record: 19.93. ibid.
2008 Olympic Games Beijing, China, August 16th Bolt smashed the world record. ibid.
2008 Beijing 200m: 19.30 Bolt breaks another world record. ibid.
2009 World Championships Berlin Germany August 16th 9.58. ibid.
200m: He breaks the world record again: 19.19. ibid.
I became the lightning bolt of the world. Usain Bolt
All day he ran. He did not rest. He seemed made to run on forever. His iron-like body ignored fatigue. And even after fatigue came, his heritage of endurance braced him to endless endeavour, and enabled him to drive his complaining body onward. Jack London, White Fang 1905
He can run. But he can’t hide. Joe Louis, to reporter before Billy Con fight 1947, cited Louis: My Life Story 1947, attributions & variations including Muhammad Ali
I just felt like running. Forrest Gump ***** 1994 starring Tom Hanks & Robin Wright & Gary Sinise & Mykelti Williamson & Sally Field & Haley Joel Osment & Peter Dobson & Dick Cavett & Sam Anderson & Geoffrey Blake & Siobhan Fallon et al, director Robert Zemeckis, Forrest
Run for the life! Back to the river! Back to the forest! Run! I want to save you! ET: The Extra-Terrestrial 1982 starring Dee Wallace & Peter Coyote & Robert MacNaughton & Drew Barrymore & Henry Thomas & et al, director Steven Spielberg, boy releases frog
Olympic Stadium, Seoul, South Korea, 24th September 1988: ‘What a race; this is the race of this century.’ 9.79, Da Silver in lane one, ESPN 2012
The world record is gone again. ibid. David Coleman
He [Johnson] just didn’t have the core talent. ibid. Lewis
It was a dilemma that every runner in the Seoul race would have to confront at some point in their career. ibid. tester
Some of our results were lost. Some number of cases never saw the light of day. ibid.
Not only had results gone missing, but there was now a new substance on the scene that was not detectable at all to the testers. ibid. commentary
1984: The Growth Hormone Games. ibid.
The main supplier in North America was Robert Kerr, a doctor based in Los Angeles. ibid.
Avoiding a positive required nothing more than looking at a calendar. ibid.
Lewis had tested positive at the US Olympic trials for three illegal stimulants. ibid.
Unbelievable! 7.79! ibid. race commentary
No-one can take it away from me. ibid. Ben’s after-race interview
I said, Well they finally got me. ibid. Ben
The biggest drugs story in Olympics history. ibid. news
What are the Barkley marathons? Where dreams go to die. Where Dreams Go To Die: Gary Robbins and the Barkley Marathons, opening sequence, 2017
5 loops each summer between 20 and 30 miles climbing we over 60,000 feet … 60 hours to complete the entire thing … Only 15 have ever finished the Barkley marathons. ibid.
‘True success is not the absence of failure. It is the refusal to surrender.’ ibid. Lazarus Lake, Barkley race director
In 2016 I was offered the opportunity of a lifetime: I had been given special permission to document my dear friend Gary Robbins’ dream of attempting the Barkley marathons. ibid.
The Barkley is the ultimate challenge both physically and mentally. ibid.
‘I’m defeated, frustrated, and I was so close.’ ibid. Gary
It’s a five-stage competitive race that takes place in Morocco every year and it’s dubbed the Toughest Foot Race on Earth … sand dunes, extreme temperatures. Losers s1e5: Lost in the Desert, Nathan DeWall, psychologist, Netflix 2019
‘The disclaimer read: In the case of death while in competition, where should we take your corpse? ibid.
‘A deadly wind lifted these small dunes … so I moved and moved. The sandstorm lasted about eight hours … There were no markers left after the sandstorm.’ ibid. Mauro
‘I started to go beyond the limits of reason.’ ibid.
‘I ate about 20 of these bats.’ ibid.
Around 50% of regular runners injure themselves every year. The Truth About Getting Fit at Home, BBC 2021
Lift up out of your hips, keep looking ahead and use quick short strides. ibid.