Who will become the next Usain Bolt?
By Roje Smith
With Bolt expected to hang up his cleats after the 2017 World Championships, here are four up-and-coming sprinters to keep an eye on.
The preliminary round of the men’s 100m dash at the 2016 Rio Olympics gets underway Saturday, and all eyes will be on the fastest human ever: Jamaica’s Usain Bolt, who has stated he plans to retire following the 2017 World Championships in London, making this his last Olympics go-round.
Bolt has dominated the sprinting scene since 2008, when the then-21-year-old broke the 100m world record at the Reebok Grand Prix with a time of 9.72, before going on to break that record with a gold-medal-winning 9.69 at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He also snapped the 200m world record with an insane time of 19.30, making Bolt the first person ever to hold both world records concurrently since the adoption of electronic timing. It was also the first time that both records were broken at the same Olympics.
Bolt went on to capture a third gold medal as the anchor of the 4x100m relay team, which set its own world best mark of 37.10.
A year later, at the 2009 Berlin World Championships, Bolt broke the 100m and 200m records again with times of 9.58 and 19.19, respectively. He would then go on to win three more gold medals at the 2012 London Olympics and anchored the 4x100m relay team to a new world record of 36.84.
Bolt’s dominance will be nearly impossible to replicate. However, there are four young sprinters that have the best shot at emerging as the next Bolt. Let’s take a look at who they are.
Trayvon Bromell – USA
Bromell, a product of Baylor University, ran the fastest 100m time ever record for a teenager when he clocked a 9.84 at the 2015 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. He also owns a personal best of 20.03 in the 200m. Both of his best times were recorded while he was 19 years old. He is now 21 years old and competing at the 2016 Rio Games in the men’s 100m and 4x100m relay.
Zharnel Hughes – Great Britain
Hughes draws strong comparisons to Bolt due to his tall 6-foot-3 frame and long strides. The Anguillian also trains with the Racers Track Club in Jamaica alongside Bolt and Yohan Blake. He owns personal bests of 10.10 and 20.02 in the 100m and 200m. Unfortunately, the 21-year-old won’t be competing in this year’s Olympics due to a PCL injury. However, he’s definitely a name to remember for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Abdul Hakim Sani Brown – Japan
This son of a Japanese mother and a Ghanaian father is only 17 years old. However, he owns personal bests of 10.22 and 20.34 in the 100m and 200m, respectively. He also won the gold medal in both events at the 2015 World Youth Championships in Cali, Columbia. His time of 20.34 broke the meet record which was previously held by Bolt since 2003. A thigh injury will keep Sani Brown out of the 2016 Olympics. However, he will be a huge name to follow for the 2020 Olympics.
Nigel Ellis – Jamaica
Ellis recently turned 19 this week and looks to be the next great sprinter from the Jamaica. He owns personal bests of 10.16 and 20.40 in the 100m and 200m. Those times were ran when he was still 18. With Bolt set to retire by 2017 and no guarantees of Yohan Blake competing at the 2020 Olympics, Ellis will look to be Jamaica’s newest torch bearer for sprinting dominance.
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