Despite winning a record eight gold medals and getting all the attention of American television broadcasters, swimming, super star Michael Phelps was not the best individual performer at the Beijing Olympics, according to the Denver Post newspaper.

Instead, Jamaican sprint phenomenon Usain Bolt was picked by the newspaper for his three world record gold medal performances in the 100, 200 metres and 4×100-metre relay.

“Usain Bolt, sprinter, Jamaica, best individual performance. Sorry, Michael Phelps,” the paper said.

“With swimmers breaking 74 world records in 2008 including 24 at these Olympics we no longer are impressed with world swim records.

“But when Bolt breaks track’s two sprint marks for the first sprint double in 24 years, then runs a leg on the sprint relay that breaks a third record, that grabs our attention,” the Denver Post stated.

Bolt, 22, joined a short list of track and field greats who have successfully completed an Olympic double when he became the first man in Olympic history to set world records in both events at any Games.

He has been described as the greatest Olympic sprinter of all-time and even labelled, Superman II by the great American Michael Johnson.

Despite being in the spotlight, the Jamaican was quick to dismiss any comparison between himself and Phelps.

“You can say that. I can’t say that. I’m just enjoying myself,” Bolt said shortly after running 19.30 seconds to win the men’s 200 metres, breaking Michael Johnson’s 12-year-old Atlanta Olympic mark.

ZURICH, Switzerland (CMC): Usain Bolt’s coach Glen Mills believes the Jamaican sprint marvel was on track to run 9.52 seconds in the 100 metres at the Beijing Olympics, had he not eased up to celebrate at the finish.

Bolt clocked 9.69 seconds to win gold in a world record-breaking performance but slowed to celebrate the phenomenal win 10 metres before the finish.

“Bolt’s first 60 metres was very good. I was told that with an all-out finish, after the opening 60 metres, Usain was projected to run a 9.52,” Mills told reporters ahead of yesterday’s Weltklasse Golden League meeting in Zurich, Wednesday evening.

Own standard

“I haven’t seen the complete biomechanical report from Beijing yet, but I can say that Usain had a good start by his own standard.”

Meanwhile, any doubts as to whether Bolt would continue to run the 100 metres after his incredible season this year were put to rest by Mills.

“This is only his first year of running the 100 metres, his first year with serious work in the event,” said Mills.

“In two more years, he should be peaking at this distance and, by then, I am certain he will be down to there (9.50 or faster).”

As astonishing as Usain Bolt’s record-breaking 100-meter sprint was, his time of 9.69 seconds is nowhere near what biostatisticians predict is the natural limit for the human body. But because he broke the mathematical model that had fit 100-meter record data for almost a century, Bolt’s incredible performance could reset how fast researchers believe humans ultimately can run.

“This trend seems to defy simple curve fitting,” wrote Tatsuo Tabata, director of the Institute for Data Evaluation and Analysis in Japan.

Statisticians have used a lower limit for 100-meter times of about 9.45 seconds, according to Tabata and other researchers. The exponential curve seen above — which is drawn from an equation calculated to fit the world record data — had been quite successful at predicting the steady progress of faster and faster 100-meter times. But Bolt’s recent string of world records was clearly not an expected event: The model didn’t predict a 9.69 until almost 2030.”

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