Usain Bolt Breaks Relay World Record for Jamaica
Usain Bolt secured a gold medal for his Jamaican team as the 2011 World Championships came to a close in Daegu, South Korea on Sunday.
Bolt set a new world record for the 4x100m race by running in 37.04 seconds. He was the only runner to break any record after nine days of competition where 1,945 athletes from 202 countries competed for 47 gold medals.
Bolt said he had to give himself a pep talk before the competition.
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"I said, 'Why not give my all.' I kept saying: 'I can do this. I can do this,'" he said, according to AP.
Despite his initial nerves, Bolt was focused going into the race.
"For me, it was just to go out there fast," Bolt said, according to AP. "We did just that.”
The anchor of the Jamaican relay team had help from teammates Nesta Carter, Michael Frater and Yohan Blake before closing the race out successfully.
Carter even seemed surprised about the team’s achievement.
"We weren't really going out to break the world record," he said.
Although the Jamaican team managed to pull out of the race successfully, team USA had a bit more trouble competing. A poor pass attempt from Darvis Patton to Walter Dix ruined the U.S.’s chances of making it to the finals.
However, Jamaica did more than make it to the Finals, they broke a world record in the process. Bolt shouted his pride after securing his win.
“I’m the world champion, we are the world champion. Jamaica is the No.1,” Bolt told cameras.
Although the sprinter is proud of his achievement, the five-time world champion said the 2012 Olympics will be his next focus.
“I will be more determined next year because I missed out in the 100m, so I have to really make an impact in London to be a legend in the sport,” Bolt said, according to The Guardian. “For me the Olympics is going to be a big milestone. There is not going to be any joking around in the season. I’m going to be serious. I’m going to be ready.”
