BEST OF 2008: GLOBAL STARS -- USAIN BOLT: FASTEST MAN ON EARTH

Our collective imagination was set on fire by the feats of Jamaican Usain Bolt at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

Usain Bolt shows that people do not care what the skin color of a person is -- TALENT IS TALENT, and great talent will be celebrated regardless of everything else.

(Photo of Usain Bolt by Anja Niedringhaus for AP, as seen on guardian.co.uk)

USAIN BOLT -- THE FASTEST MAN ON EARTH!

WEDNESDAY NIGHT WAS SOMETHING ELSE ALTOGETHER INDEED IN THIS MODERN ERA -- IT'S THE BEIJING OLYMPICS, WITH MORE THAN A BILLION PEOPLE INTENTLY WATCHING THEIR TELEVISION SCREENS TO SEE HOW USAIN BOLT WILL DO IN THE 200M RACE.

HE'D ALREADY CLINCHED THE 100M RACE WITH A RECORD-SHATTERING TIME OF 9.69 SECONDS.

TONIGHT, USAIN IS HIS USUAL JOVIAL SELF, FOOLING AROUND WITH THE TELEVISION CAMERAS AND WITH THE AUDIENCE HE KNOWS ARE WATCHING HIM CLOSELY INTHE STADIUM AND ALL AROUND THE WORLD.


THEN, WHEN THE 200M RACE STARTED... IT WAS QUITE A SPECTACULAR SIGHT INDEED SEEING USAIN BOLT OF JAMAICA AGAIN SHATTER THE WORLD 200M RECORD BY CLOCKING IN 19.30 SECONDS AT THE GLORIOUS BIRD'S NEST STADIUM IN BEIJING.
(THE BIRDS NEST IS GORGEOUS AND IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL STADIUM IN THE WOLRD WITH THE CAPACITY TO SEAT MORE THAN 90,000 FANS -- OH, AND THE CHINESE MUST BE CREDITED AS BEING THE BEST OLYMPICS GAMES AUDIENCE EVER... THEY TRULY KNOW HOW TO SPOT AND SUPPORT TALENT!)

ANYWAY, AGAIN, USAIN BOLT WAS HEAD AND SHOULDERS AND ARMS AND LEGS AND TORSO AHEAD OF EVERYONE ELSE. GENETICALLY, THIS FASTEST MAN ON EARTH HAS TO BE AS CLOSE TO PERFECTION AS A MAN POSSIBLY CAN BE.

THEN, FITTINGLY, AFTER HE'D CONQUERED THE 200M RACE, THE CAMERAS FLIRTED WITH HIM AS HE ALSO, IN TURN, FLIRTED WITH THE AUDIENCE BOTH IN THE STADIUM AND THOSE WHO'D BEEN WATCHING HIS FEAT ON TV AT HOME. THROUGHOUT, THE ROAR OF THE CROWD IN THE STADIUM WAS THUNDEROUS. (CROWD THEN SPORTINGLY SANG THE "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" SONG FOR USAIN WHO IS CELEBRATING HIS BIRTHDAY THE NEXT DAY.)

PRIOR TO THE START OF THE 200M RACE, I WAS WONDERING HOW USAIN BOLT WOULD COPE WITH SO MUCH PRESSURE BEARING DOWN HIS BACK AS EVERYONE WHO'S BEEN FOLLOWING THE OLYMPICS GAMES IN BEIJING HAD HIGH HOPES FOR HIM TO OUTDO THE WORLD RECORD. SURPRISINGLY, HE WAS CHARMING AND COOL AS A CUCUMBER AND LAPPED UP ALL THE ATTENTION EVERYONE WAS SHOWERING ON HIM!

TOMORROW, USAIN BOLT OF JAMAICA TURNS 22 AND WINNING THE 200M IN GREAT STYLE IS A GREAT WAY TO START HIS BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS.

THESE EXCELLENT PICTURES ARE FROM NEW YORK TIMES. SEE THE NYT WEBSITE (WWW.NYTIMES.COM) FOR THE WORLD'S BEST COVERAGE OF THE BEIJING 2008 OLYMPICS IN CHINA.

BEIJING 2008 -- THE TRUE OLYMPIANS ARE ENTERING THE STADIUM!

TRACK AND FIELD -- THAT'S WHEN THE POWER OF THE OLYMPICS IS UNLEASHED!

THE TRUE DISPLAY OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT AND SHEER POWER OF THE HUMAN BODY NOW COME INTO PLAY IN THE MOST HIGH PROFILE SEGMENTS OF THE OLYMPICS GAMES: ATHLETICS. (YES, PHELPS HAS DONE AN AMAZING THING IN BRINGING SWIMMING TO THE FOREFRONT OF THE PUBLIC EYE -- BUT IT IS STILL THE ATHLETES IN TRACK AND FIELD EVENTS WHO CAPTURE THE BULK OF IMAGINATION OF THE GLOBAL MASSES.)

USAIN BOLT OF JAMAICA HAS ALREADY SET THE MINDS OF PEOPLE REELING WITH HIS SPECTACULAR SPEED AND NOW RUSSIAN POLE VAULTER YELENA ISINBAYEVA HAS BROKEN HER OWN RECORD AND, IMPRESSIVELY, IN DOING SO KEPT THE ENTIRE STADIUM OF PEOPLE BACK JUST TO WATCH HER BREAK THE POLE VAULTING RECORD!

PICTURE IS OF USAIN BOLT (2ND FROM LEFT), MAKING WINNING THE 100M DASH LOOK LIKE A BREEZE. PICTURE FROM NEW YORK TIMES.

JAMAICAN THUNDER-BOLT!!!!!!!

A GOD AMONGST MEN

ONE CAN ONLY IMAGINE THAT IF LIL RICHARD HAD BEEN WATCHING THE 100 METERS ATHLETICS OF THE BEIJING 2008 OLYMPIC GAMES, HE WOULD HAVE JUMPED OUT OF HIS CHAIR AND SCREAMED "GOOD GOLLY MISS MOLLY!" AT THE SUPERHUMAN FEAT OF USAIN BOLT OF JAMAICA WHO SPED TO THE FINISH LINE IN FANTASTIC TIME!

I KNOW WE ALL DID - JUMP OUT OF OUR SEATS IN AMAZEMENT AT THIS SUPERMAN'S SPEED! USAIN IS SPLENDID AND DESERVES THE TAG FASTEST MAN ON EARTH! BRAVO!

FOR FACT FANS, HERE'RE THE DETAILS: USAIN FINISHED THE 100M DASH IN 9.69 SECONDS (STRIDE RATE, ACCORDING TO THE UK'S THE INDEPENDENT: 41 OVER 100M!!!!!!!!!!) -- BREAKING THE WORLD RECORD, WHICH HE HIMSELF SET EARLIER.

THE THING THAT IS GOING THROUGH EVERYONE'S MIND NOW IS THAT IF USAIN DID NOT SLOW DOWN AS HE REACHED NEAR THE FINISH LINE, WHAT WOULD HIS TIME HAVE BEEN?

AS THEY WOULD BE SAYING IN JAMAICA NOW: THAT IS FANTASTIC MON!

ALL PHOTOS FROM NEW YORK TIMES.