Legendary sprinter Usain Bolt has called it quits after losing to Justin Gatlin at the World Championships in London this past weekend. Widely regarded as the greatest sprinter of all time, Bolt is currently the fastest human in the world and the first to ever hold the world record for both the 100m and 200m at the same time. He also holds the world record as part of the 4 x 100m Jamaican relay team.

Bolt is the only sprinter to win the Olympic 100m and 200m titles at three consecutive Olympics (2008, 2012 and 2016), a feat referred to as the “triple double.” In the interesting table above we see the 29 fastest 100m times ever recorded with the names of sprinters caught doping stricken out.

While many see this as a further testament to Bolt’s greatness, some see it as a clear sign of suspicion in a sport that has been plagued by doping scandals. A contentious article recently published on Medium entitled, “Usain Bolt, Lance Armstrong and the Duck Test” has raised some controversial issues surrounding Bolt’s untarnished career.

Until proven otherwise I stand on the side of embracing Bolt’s legendary career as the greatest sprinter and ambassador for the sport of all time. We can only to hope one day see another runner as exciting and electrifying as Bolt.

 

[Tom New on Medium via mthrs on reddit]