The immortality of Usain Bolt

It’s hard to imagine anything keeping Usain Bolt from winning. He’s mechanically engineered to run faster than everyone else in the world for incredibly short periods of time. Even though his speed rivals anyone in the existence of the human race, he still hasn’t been perfect. He’s notoriously slow off the blocks, and he’s notoriously slow to finish when he knows he has the race wrapped up. Despite setting world records in every event he’s competed in, many still wonder if he could have been faster — and with these kinds of questions about the man who is undoubtedly the fastest ever — a natural follow-up question is whether anyone in the future will match his speed. There are anatomical limits to how fast men can run, and Bolt’s brilliance oftentimes feels like that peak.

It takes very little time for Bolt to bridge timelessness and timeliness on a world stage in a way in which everyone watching can understand. Sprinting is ostensibly the purest athletic event, the most level playing field — and for 12 years, Bolt hasn’t just been the best at what he does, he’s pushed the limits of what is humanly possible. We receive his athletic prowess in small doses — both in the amount of time it takes him to complete his event and the frequency in which we get to see him raze his competition. Bolt is the first cask of your favorite fall ale or the first peach of the summer or grandma’s holiday cheesecake. His brand of greatness is best in small doses — a seasonal luxury that you want as much of as possible until he’s gone again.

After the 4x100 relay, Bolt is likely gone forever, and this is a reality that we haven’t spent time thinking about. After his win in the 100, Bolt told the New York Times that he can ‘sign off immortal’ after two more gold medals. And he’s right; he’s reserved a permanent home in the elite cul de sac on top of Mount Olympus. He’s among the greatest athletes ever and is easily the greatest sprinter of all time. With this reality comes a competing, yet complimentary, idea about the future of sprinting. For the last 12 years, Bolt has provided the most thrilling 10, 20 and 40-second bursts of raw athleticism for world consumption. He’s been an ambassador for the sport, his country and himself. He’s been the most fun personality and the most respectful of others’ achievements.

Without Bolt, there is no champion to root for or against, just a static realization that these events will go on without a real threat of something really special happening. Bolt’s events felt tangible for the viewers at home — like we could reach into our televisions and hold his world records in the palms of our hands. Watching him create discernible space between himself and a collection of the fastest men in the world in fewer than 10 seconds was akin to a lucid dream — a sense that things were simultaneously real and imaginary at the same time.

Those vibrant green, yellow and black jerseys blurred across stadiums in China, England and Brazil as if he had anywhere to be in the world. After he sped across finish lines, he jogged right into our hearts as if he knew our arteries couldn’t handle a Bolt of lightning. He hugged babies, high-fived fans and pointed to the skies just to let us know it was Zeus himself who ordained him a demigod — as evidenced by his surname and his claim to fame coming during an event originating in ancient Greece. Bolt was born to become a heroic Olympian, and we saw his destiny realized three times over in three consecutive Olympic games — well, almost.

Bolt has fewer than 40 seconds left in his career. He’ll anchor the Jamaican 4x100 team for the last time. And while they’re the heavy favorites, it’ll still be up to Bolt to hold off a very talented and fast American team. The Americans have the fastest time so far in all of the heats and were neck-and-neck with Jamaica in the 2012 games until the final leg when Bolt finally separated himself from Ryan Bailey in what may have been the most thrilling relay race ever. Bolt’s separation allowed for Jamaica to set a new world record, the Americans were so close that they would have had the world record without the existence of the Jamaicans.

Like the 2012 games, the American and Jamaican teams will race in side-by-side lanes and will push each other to their respective limits. The speed is awfully impressive for both teams, but Jamaica has Bolt, and Bolt isn’t just racing for another Olympic gold, he’s racing for immortality. In athletics, the universe calls for constant change, indefinite flux, but if Bolt can anchor the Jamaican team to a third consecutive gold, his place as the greatest sprinter will be cemented — and ironically, after today, that will be the only thing to keep him from winning the next race.