Usain Bolt grew up in a small town in Jamaica, where he chased after cricket balls before he ever ran a race. He was always tall - eventually 6 feet 5 inches - and most coaches told him sprinters that big shouldn’t even bother. Bolt ignored them.
At the 2008 Olympics in Beijing he won the 100-meter dash in world-record time, with his shoelace untied and arms spread wide before he even crossed the line. A year later, at the world championships in Berlin, he ran the 100 meters in 9.58 seconds - a record that has stood ever since.
Bolt went on to win 8 Olympic gold medals across three Olympic Games, plus 11 world titles. His relaxed personality, “Lightning Bolt” pose, and showmanship made him one of the most loved athletes on the planet. After he retired from sprinting in 2017, he briefly tried to become a professional soccer player.
