Usaine Bolt 9,58 sec - 100m

[Jimi75]

I saw it live yesterday. Wow. This guy was running with a top speed of 40 km/h or 24,85 mph. For all of you that have missed it. Here's DA ROCKET:

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[ragnarpk]

druuuuugs

[duhvoodooman]

I must admit to having the same suspicions, not only about Bolt but the whole Jamaican sprint program. Hope I'm wrong, but this level of domination from a country with a population of under 3 million--less than the state of Iowa--is extremely difficult to understand.

[piebaldpython]

The Jamaican sprint/hurdles programs for men/women have been stellar for decades. RUNNING is their sport and their way out of the abject poverty that crushes their island republic.

They dominate the short races in the same manner that the African runners dominate races over a mile.

[duhvoodooman]

Yeah, I'm well aware of the Jamaican emphasis on the sprint events for many years. And they've been competitive for many years. It's this sudden dominance that raises suspicions. We've seen it happen in other sports, and all too often it's chemically enhanced. Hope that's not the case here, but can't help being skeptical....

[piebaldpython]

Vood......that was my point. The Jamaicans have been in the ELITE class for so long....that it's not surprising when one of their runners outclasses the rest of the field. Same thing happened when Carl Lewis ran for the USA. He won most of his races handily.

At times, even among the ELITE performers of a sport/skill.........sometimes there are sizable gradations between the Top Dog and the next in line.

My gut feeling is that Usain Bolt is the creme de la creme of sprinting simply because he is the BEST and not because of chemical enhancement. His technique is flawless.

[Suhnton]

druuuuugs

Usain Bolt passed over 30 consecutive drug tests. Carl Lewis failed 3 drug tests and was allowed to compete at the 1988 Olympics.

[Jimi75]

Well, after the Olympics everybody suspected Bolt to have doped. In the end it was false suspicion. I think if you look back at the 100m run at the Olympics you could already see that there was much more potential to Bolt. I had the impression that he "jogged" the olympic 100m, he had time to look to the left and right and he was highly superior to the other athletes. So his new record in Berlin is not as surprising as one could think. And in fact, also in the Berlin run he had some buffer. If Bolt improves his start, he could also beat the 9,5 barrier.

[duhvoodooman]

Well, that's encouraging and I certainly hope it's all true. We don't need yet another doping scandal, for sure, but there have been so many cases of those "top dogs" turning out to be juiced up that it's hard not to be suspicious of such a dominating performance. I'll shut up now....

[piebaldpython]

Your point is well taken.....there is just such a preponderence of "juice" that it's almost a scene where being juiced is "assumed" until proven differently. So, "guilty" until proven "innocent". That's a shame.

The Phils slugger Ryan Howard raised eyebrows when he started hitting tons of homers for us a few years ago. Lots of them and more than a few were monstrous shots. Then, you take a look at him.....nothing but a big ole farm boy in appearance. He didn't/doesn't look stacked and ripped at all. Thank God for that.