Rio 2016 Olympics: Usain Bolt must duck under 19 seconds in 200m final to deliver standout moment

Lightning Bolt: The Jamaican sprint king has so far been overshadowed, says Darren Campbell
(Ian Walton/Getty Images)

When Wayde van Niekerk crossed the line to break Michael Johnson’s 17-year-old record for the 400 metres, Usain Bolt was captured watching on camera.

The Jamaican stopped in his tracks, opened his mouth and put both hands to his face in astonishment. Afterwards he stopped his own post-race interview to pass on his congratulations to the South African.

The world’s fastest man knows what it takes to break world records but, in that moment, it sparked a further moment of motivation for the 29-year-old, not that such a thing is needed.

Coming to Rio, the goal was always the completion of his long-term project of three golds at three straight Games. Right now, Bolt looks unbeatable, so the target has shifted with talk from the man himself about going under 19 seconds.

British sprinter Darren Campbell argues that van Niekerk has got under Bolt’s skin — in a positive way. “Right now, that’s the stand-out, mind-blowing performance of these Games and Bolt wants that,” says Campbell, who won gold in the 4x100m relay in Athens after silver in the 200m in 2000.

“That was the ‘oh my God’ moment for Bolt and everyone else in the stands. But he wants everyone to say ‘oh my God’ about him too. If he runs under 19 seconds, he’ll get that, no question.”

Still struggling with his starts, Bolt looks unlikely to ever go under his 100m mark of 9.58 seconds, which has stood for seven years. While his 200m world best — 19.19sec — has lasted as long, there is genuine belief in the Jamaican camp that he can lower that mark.

There were fears the hamstring injury at the Jamaican National Championships, which briefly put his Olympic participation in doubt, had curtailed that particular ambition but it is thought to have cost him no more than two days of training.

Already his best for the 200m is barely believable, so to take it below 19sec would be in another realm. There are critics who suggest it is not possible with Bolt past his peak but Johnson, whose 200m record he broke, did not peak until just before he turned 29, the age Bolt is now.

In Pictures: Team GB's medal run at Rio 2016 Olympics

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Campbell says: “To get to below 19 seconds is a big step but can we really question Usain Bolt? Anyone that has questioned him before has been made to look silly.

“To do that would clearly mean the world to him, he’s said as much and he’s made it his ambition. It’s the one record he really feels he can lower. Of course it’s possible.

“Just look at him in the 100m. He was so focused and you can see the sort of shape he’s in: his body, his cheeks — and he’s slim. I saw a picture of him earlier in the season and I thought that ‘he’s not messing about, he’s serious about this record’.

“He’s already done out-of-the-world things but he needs another out-of-the-world target. This is his mission, it’s just a question of whether he can pull it off. The track is quick enough.”

Bolt will line up in the final as the fastest qualifier with a season’s best 19.78sec, achieved while chatting to Andre de Grasse as he crossed the line. His closest challenger is likely to be LaShawn Merritt, who won his heat in 19.94sec, while Justin Gatlin and Yohan Blake missed out.

But can Bolt, who has not lost a 200m in a major championship since 2007, be beaten?

Maurice Greene, the former world record holder for the distance and Olympic champion, believes Bolt’s rivals had the opportunity last year, when Bolt was injured in the run-up to the world championships. “I believe they missed the chance of beating Bolt,” says Greene. “Last year was the year to do it.”

Campbell agrees.“I can’t see it happening,” he adds. “Probably the closest we’ve got to a fragile Bolt mentally was at the 2011 World Championships when he false-started in the 100m. He was up against his training partner and he knew how good he was. But Bolt didn’t get beaten, he beat himself.”

For anyone to have a chance of catching Bolt tonight inside Rio’s Olympic Stadium is for them to have a six or seven-metre lead heading into the home straight, according to Campbell.

“For anyone to win, they’ll have the run the bend of their life,” he says. “To beat someone you have to get in their head and unsettle them. That’s never happened to Bolt. He doesn’t know anything except winning so frankly good luck to everyone else.

“His disadvantage at the 100m is he has such a long stride length, but over the longer distance he can build up more momentum. A lot of people thing he speeds up in the home straight but his deceleration is far less dramatic than his rivals. Tonight we’ll be witnessing greatness again.”

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