Usain Bolt overtakes Carl Lewis in world track championship history
Usain Bolt sprinted past Carl Lewis into the world track championship record book by completing a triple gold-medal performance Sunday in Moscow while anchoring Jamaica to victory in the 400-meter relay.
His march to greatness continues, and Bolt says he’s not going to slow down.
“I’ll continue dominating,†said Bolt, who earlier during the meet won the 100 and 200. “I’ll continue to work hard. For me, my aim is to continue hard into the greatness thing.â€
He tied the American sprint legend with his 10th world championship medal. Each has eight gold medals, but the scale tips in Bolt’s favor because he has a pair of silver medals, while Lewis has a silver and bronze.
To hear Bolt talk about the relay victory, it was never in doubt, even though the U.S. was leading before a bad exchange cost the Americans a chance at victory with Justin Gatlin waiting to run the final leg.
“I wasn’t really worried about Justin,†Bolt said. “I knew if he got the baton in front of me, I could catch him. So it was just going out there to run as fast as possible.â€
Not that Gatlin was going to argue.
“It’s not just about the talent. It’s about rising to the occasion. He understands what that means,†Gatlin said of the Jamaican’s accomplishments.
Those accolades include becoming the only man to hold the world records simultaneously in the 100 and 200 since fully automatic times became mandatory in 1977 and six gold medals in the last two Olympics.
ALSO:
In the YouTube age, sports fame can endure
Go beyond the scoreboard
Get the latest on L.A.'s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
