By Lynn Hong (18A13A)
He was always known for his finishes. Some criticised his starts as slow, sloppy, but he would hold us all in rapture as he flew down the home straight, feet barely seeming to ghost the track. He would surge across the line, flashing a smile. Don’t blink, you might miss it.
The 2017 World Championships was to be his last run. He was slated for the 100-metre followed by the 4×100-metre relay before bowing out, hopefully as a champion.
But this is how it ends: a desperate clutch at a hamstring, feet faltering, the man lying helpless on the track. An official with a wheelchair comes out for him. The world’s fastest man finishes his final race, the 4×100-metre relay, in last place. He is too great a man to pity, yet inside we say this is not right, this is not how he should leave. “Forever faster” we all said, but even Bolt, with his powerful strides, cannot outrun time.
