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Memories are built on moments, not numbers.
It only took Jamaica's Usain Bolt 9.69 seconds to quiet down Michael Phelps' roar at Beijing Summer Olympics. It may have been his extraordinary performance before the Olympics at the Reebok Invitational in New York when Bolt run 100 meters at 9.72 seconds breaking the record of his countryman Asafa Powell. It may have been his fantastic physical condition that pulled him through exhausting trials in national championships successfully offering him the opportunity to participate at the Olympic Games. It may have simply been his willingness to elevate the spirit of the Jamaican Olympic team and to capture an Olympic gold medal. Regardless of the reasons behind his enormous success, Usain Bolt delivered at Beijing Summer Olympics and, in fact, he made Phelps' magnitude look almost like expected.
Memories are built on moments, not numbers.
The men's 100 meters is the race that Olympic fans around the globe wait patiently for hoping for an exceptional moment that they will be able to talk about forever. Despite Phelps' extraordinary performance and eight Olympic gold medals, Bolt's sparkling sprint in the 100-meter dash was far more spectacular. Bringing on a show to give the Olympics' top event its deserved podium, Bolt run 100 meters in 9.69 seconds improving his own world record, which not only was set without a favourable wind (+0.0 m/s), but he also slowed down to celebrate before the finish line with an untied shoelace. Bolt returned the initials "WR" next to his name making it seem right to do so. It was the feeling of the crowd, that made this record seem right.
Nicknamed "Lightning Bolt", the Jamaican runner struck twice. Taking sprint to another dimension, Bolt competed for the 200m in front of 100,000 fans at the Bird's Nest stadium and of millions of TV spectators around the globe. And he delivered again. This time, offering again an electrifying run, it took him 19.30 second to smash Michael Johnson's world record set 12 years ago in Atlanta. Again, it was the feeling of the crowd, that made this record seem right.
Memories are built on moments, not numbers.
Arguing that Michael Phelps has done incredible things at Summer Olympics in Beijing would probably be an understatement. He managed to break Mark Spitz's record of seven Olympic gold medals and he is certainly the most productive Olympic Gold medal winner in history with a personal tally of 14 at his 23s. However, apart from the euphoria and splash of fists
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Most people will write that the outstanding athlete of 2008 is Michael Phelps and offer as proof his eight Olympic gold medals.
The best athlete of 2008 is really a rather peculiar subject, as the highlight of the sporting year was of course the Beijing
Memories are built on moments, not numbers.
It only took Jamaica's Usain Bolt 9.69 seconds to quiet down Michael Phelps' roar
by Roisi Proven
2008 was undoubtedly a fantastic year for sport, but there was no greater show of athleticism and sportsmanship than that
When you are talking about sports in the year 2008, there are quite a few athletes who stepped up their games and broke out
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Best of 2008: Athlete
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