FESTIVE USAIN BOLT CLOCKS 14:42 IN RIO DE JANEIRO
RIO DE JANEIRO, COPACABANA – SK. Wherever Usain Bolt goes, he is the talk of the town. It was no different on Sunday at Rio de Janeiro´s iconic Copacabana beach. The fastest man in the world drew big crowds as he attempted to improve his own world record at the 150 metres. Bolt fell 0.07 seconds short of the record, but it did not spoil the fun as he danced his way through four days of Rio de Janeiro, once more turning an athletics event into an entertainment show.
The organization Mano a Mano invited Bolt to run at Rio´s famed beach in a bid to democratize athletics in Brazil. Duda Magalhaes from the Dream Factory explains: " Athletics is very democratic, like the beach. Therefore the idea to take athletics away from the stadium and bring it to the beach of Copacabana, where everyone will have the chance of attending an athletics event at a very high level." Copacabana turned out to be a beach loaded with local admirers of Jamaica´s most recognizable export product.
Bolt arrived on Thursday in the party capital of the world and apart from the obligatory formalities, the multiple Olympic champion proved he is a fine match for the city indulging in the festive atmosphere that Rio´s relaxed setting undisputedly brings along. Mixing a social project, a game of futvolei and his customary dj-ing, Bolt is increasingly taking a liking to Rio de Janeiro, already indicating that he intends to compete at the Olympic Games in 2016. While the beach and Brazilians girls might be a bit complicated, Bolt, a football aficionado, expressed his desire to meet Neymar.
For all his frolics and superstardom , Bolt had embarked to Rio on a serious mission: bettering his previous world record at the unusual distance of 150 metres, which he had previously set at 14:35 seconds in 2009. Bolt yet again challenged the limits of the human body trying to add another world record to his name in a race dubbed "Bolt against time". Alex Quinonez, Daniel Bailey and home favourite Bruno Lins assisted Bolt in his battle with time on a special four-lane track constructed at Leme beach, an outer stretch of Copacabana.
Sun-bathed under blue skies, Bolt took to the track in a relaxed mood. From the start, getting fast out of the blocks, he comfortably sped away from his rivals, pushing on, but lacking a dash in the final third to knock off his world record. Bolt cruised to victory with Bruno Lins finishing second in 14:91. His first performance of the season did not disappoint and a satisfied Bolt can now happily move on to focus on bigger targets this season. But not before hitting town tonight and soaking up the atmosphere and dances moves of the nightlife in Rio de Janeiro.
Usain Bolt came and conquered Rio again on his second visit. In his uncompromising style Bolt appeals to the Brazilian public and may well give the Brazilian athletics a boost with his performance at Copacabana beach. Yet as was visible at the event, problems remain – a vast majority of the crowd were unable to get up close to the track, which cost a staggering 269000 EUR and won´t be used again. These pitfalls imply not all is well in the host city for 2016 Olympic Games , but those problems are not the responsibility of Usain Bolt. He came to do what had been asked of him: for the umpteenth time push his body to the limit .