Читать книгу That's Great Advice - Matthew Pearlman - Страница 6

The world’s fastest runner, Usain Bolt, is popular all over the world and is universally admired in his country - Jamaica. He is a five-time World Champion and three-time Olympic gold medalist and world record holder in the 100 meter and 200 meter races, and 4 x 100 meter relay. Usain’s world record pace in the 100 meter race is 9.52 seconds. In 2011, Usain Bolt was named the World Male Athlete of the year for the third time. He is only the second athlete in history to receive this honor three different times.

Usain was born in August, 1986 in Trelawny, Jamaica, where he grew up with his brother Sadeeki and sister Sherine. His parents ran the local grocery store and Usain spent most of his time playing cricket and soccer with his brother. Usain said, “When I was young, I didn’t really think about anything other than sports.” At age 12, Usain was his school’s fastest runner in the 100 meter race. His athletic talent earned him training opportunities and the chance to move to Kingston, Jamaica’s capital city.

In 2002, Usain became the youngest participant to win the World Junior Championship in running. His biggest challenge came in 2004, when he injured his hamstring while training to defend his World Junior track and field championship. Recovering from his injury and learning perseverance led to the outstanding career Usain has had since.

In person, Usain is laid-back, loves music, and enjoys watching other sports like soccer and cricket. Usain is currently writing his autobiography.

Usain’s message for kids about perseverance is:

“In 2004, I was injured and missed defending my World Junior title. I went to the Olympics that year but was unable to run properly due to the injury – this was the time I had to persevere. The best advice is something my coach Glen Mills told me – You have to learn to lose in order to learn to win.”