Usain Bolt's Success and Achievements in Timeline

A success timeline featuring the most significant achievements of Usain Bolt.

Usain Bolt, a retired Jamaican sprinter, is widely regarded as the greatest sprinter of all time. He achieved remarkable success, winning eight Olympic gold medals. Bolt holds the world records in the 100 metres (9.58 seconds), 200 metres (19.19 seconds), and 4 × 100 metres relay (36.84 seconds). His dominance and record-breaking performances have solidified his place as a legendary figure in athletics.

Sections (5)

Full Timeline Early Life & Education Career & Achievements Success & Recognition Challenges & Struggles

2002: IAAF Rising Star Award

In 2002, Usain Bolt received the IAAF Rising Star Award.

2002: World Junior Championships Gold Medal

In 2002, Usain Bolt won the 200 m in a time of 20.61 s at the World Junior Championships held in Kingston, Jamaica, becoming the youngest world-junior gold medallist ever. He also took two silver medals and set national junior records in the 4 × 100 metres and 4 × 400 metres relay.

2004: Turns professional and sets world junior record

In 2004, Usain Bolt turned professional, beginning with the CARIFTA Games in Bermuda where he became the first junior sprinter to run the 200 m in under twenty seconds, taking the world junior record outright with a time of 19.93 s. He was awarded the Austin Sealy Trophy for the most outstanding athlete of the 2004 CARIFTA Games for the second time.

2007: Silver Medal at the World Championships

At the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, Japan, Bolt won a silver medal in the 200m with a time of 19.91 s, with a head wind of 0.8 m/s.

2007: First Major World Medal and National Record

In 2007, Bolt won his first major world medal, a bronze, at the IAAF World Athletics Final in Stuttgart with a time of 20.10 s. He also won a silver medal at the IAAF World Cup in Athens with a time of 19.96 s. Later, at the Jamaican Championships, Bolt broke Don Quarrie's 36-year-old Jamaican record in the 200 m with a time of 19.75 s.

2007: Silver Medal in Relay and Improved Technique

In 2007, Bolt, along with Asafa Powell, Marvin Anderson, and Nesta Carter, won a silver medal in the 4 × 100 metres relay at a major tournament setting a national record of 37.89 s for Jamaica. Despite not winning gold at the major tournaments in 2007, Coach Mills felt that Bolt's technique was much improved.

2007: 4 x 100 m relay at the 2007 World Athletics Championships

In 2007, at the World Athletics Championships, Usain Bolt was beaten at a major championship for the first time since the 4 × 100 m relay.

May 2008: Second-Fastest Time in History

On May 3, 2008, Bolt ran a time of 9.76 s at the Jamaica Invitational in Kingston, the second-fastest legal performance in the 100m event's history at the time.

May 2008: First sub-10-second performance

On May 3, 2008, Usain Bolt achieved his first sub-10-second performance in the 100m.

May 2008: New 100 m World Record

On May 31, 2008, Bolt set a new 100 m world record at the Reebok Grand Prix in New York City, running 9.72 s. Gay finished second in the race.

June 2008: Start of 200m Undefeated Streak

From June 12, 2008, Usain Bolt began a streak of 17 undefeated finals in the 200m.

August 2008: Start of 100m Win Streak

From August 16, 2008, Usain Bolt started a win-streak covering 14 100m finals.

2008: Beijing Olympics Double Sprint Victory

At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Usain Bolt gained worldwide fame for his double sprint victory in world record times, making him the first person to hold both records since fully automatic time became mandatory in 2008.

2008: Gold medal from Beijing Olympics

At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Usain Bolt won a gold medal.

2008: Record-Breaking Relay at the Summer Olympics

At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Usain Bolt and the Jamaican 4 × 100 m relay team set a world record of 37.10 s.

2008: Beijing Games

At the Beijing Games in 2008, Bolt won gold, that was later stripped due to a teammate's doping violation in January 2017.

2008: ÅF Golden League and Jamaican Dominance

At the end of the 2008 athletics season, Bolt competed in the ÅF Golden League, beginning in Weltklasse Zürich. At the Super Grand Prix final in Lausanne, Bolt ran his second-fastest 200 m with a time of 19.63 s. Bolt's final event of the season came three days later at the Golden League final in Brussels where he won the 100m race with a time of 9.77 s.

2008: Gold at the 2008 Summer Olympics

In 2008, Bolt was part of the Jamaican relay team that won gold at the Summer Olympics with a time of 37.10 seconds, although the result was later voided.

2008: Winning First Olympic Gold Medal

In 2008, Bolt won his first Olympic gold medal. Following the race, his chest slapping before the finish line was seen as showboating, but Bolt denied he was bragging.

2008: Gold Medal in Relay and Donation to Sichuan

In 2008, Bolt, along with teammates Nesta Carter, Michael Frater, and Asafa Powell, won gold in the Jamaican 4 × 100 metres relay, breaking another world and Olympic record with a finish of 37.10 s. Following his victories, Bolt donated US$50,000 to the children of Sichuan province in China to help those harmed by the 2008 Sichuan earthquake.

2008: Olympics 4x100 Metre Title

In 2008, Jamaican team won the Olympics 4x100 metre title.

2008: Puma campaign for Olympic glory

In 2008, Puma released a series of videos promoting Bolt's chase for Olympic glory at the Beijing Summer Olympics, including footage of his record-setting run in Icahn Stadium. During the 2008 Beijing 100 m final, Bolt wore golden Puma Complete Theseus spikes.

2008: 200 Metres World Record

In 2008, Usain Bolt set a 200 metres world record, setting 19.30 seconds.

2009: New 100 m World Record at World Championships

At the 2009 World Championships in Berlin in August, Bolt set a new world record in the 100 m with a time of 9.58 s to win his first World Championship gold medal. He set the fastest speed a human has ever ran with a top speed of 12.32 m/s.

2009: World Championship Gold Medals

From 2009, Usain Bolt consecutively won World Championship 100 m, 200 m and 4 × 100 metres relay gold medals.

2009: 150 metres world best

In 2009, Bolt set the 150 metres world best and during the race ran the last 100 metres in 8.70 seconds.

2009: New 100m World Record

In 2009, Usain Bolt improved upon his second 100 m world record of 9.69 with 9.58 seconds – the biggest improvement since the start of electronic timing. He also set a new 200 metres world record of 19.19 seconds in 2009.

2009: World record in 100 metres and 200 metres

In 2009, Usain Bolt set a world record of 9.58 seconds in the 100 metres, and a world record of 19.19 seconds in the 200 metres at the World Championships in Athletics in Berlin.

2011: World Championships in Athletics

In 2011, Bolt was part of the Jamaican relay team that set a world record time of 37.04 seconds at the World Championships in Athletics.

2011: Undefeated Season

In the 2011 season, Bolt was undefeated in both the 100 and 200 meter races. He started the season with wins in Rome and Ostrava in May. In June 2011 in Oslo, he ran his first 200 m race in over a year, achieving a world-leading time of 19.86 seconds.

2012: London Olympics Gold Medal

At the 2012 London Olympics, Usain Bolt won the 100 metres gold medal with a time of 9.63 seconds, improving upon his own Olympic record. With his 2012 win, Bolt became the first man to successfully defend an Olympic sprint title since Carl Lewis in 1988.

2012: End of Season Wins

In 2012, Bolt ended his season with wins on the IAAF Diamond League circuit, and had 200 m wins of 19.58 s and 19.66 s in Lausanne and Zürich before closing with a 100 m of 9.86 s in Brussels. The latter run brought him his first Diamond League title in the 100 m.

2012: 2012 Summer Olympics

In 2012, Bolt was part of the Jamaican relay team that set a world record time of 36.84 seconds at the Summer Olympics.

2012: 4 x 100 Metres Relay World Records

In 2012, Usain Bolt helped Jamaica to three 4 × 100 metres relay world records, with the current record being 36.84 seconds.

2012: Olympic 100m and 200m Titles

In 2012, Usain Bolt won Olympic 100 m and 200 m titles at the Olympics. He also won a 4 × 100 relay gold medal in 2012.

2012: Gold Medal-Winning Relay Team

On the final day of the 2012 Olympic athletics, Bolt participated in Jamaica's gold medal-winning 4 × 100 metres relay team along with Nesta Carter, Michael Frater and Blake. With a time of 36.84 seconds, they knocked two tenths of a second from their previous world record from 2011.

2013: IAAF World Male Athlete of the Year

In 2013, Bolt was named IAAF World Male Athlete of the Year for the fifth time in six years.

2013: World Relay Gold Medal

In 2013, Bolt won a third consecutive world relay gold medal in the 4 × 100 metres relay final, making him the most successful athlete in the 30-year history of the World Championships.

August 2014: Indoor 100 m World Record

In August 2014, Bolt set the indoor 100 m world record in Warsaw with a time of 9.98 seconds.

2015: World Championship Gold Medals

In 2015, Usain Bolt won World Championship 100 m, 200 m and 4 × 100 metres relay gold medals.

2016: Rio Olympics

At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Bolt won the 100 metres gold medal with a time of 9.81 seconds, making him the first athlete to win the event three times at the Olympic Games. Bolt followed up his 100 m win with a gold medal in the 200 m.

2016: Highest paid athlete in the sport

In 2016, Usain Bolt earned about $33 million, making him the highest-paid athlete in track and field history and placing him at No. 32 on Forbes' list of The World's Highest-Paid Athletes.

2016: Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People

In 2016, Usain Bolt was included in Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People.

2016: Olympic 100m and 200m Titles

In 2016, Usain Bolt won Olympic 100 m and 200 m titles at the Olympics.

December 2017: Unveiling of statue at National Stadium in Kingston

In December 2017, a statue of Usain Bolt was unveiled in his honor at the National Stadium in Kingston. The statue depicts him in his signature "lightning bolt" pose.

2017: 2017 World Athletics Championships

In 2017, at the World Athletics Championships, Usain Bolt had a slow start in his heat but managed to win. In the semi-final, he was beaten by Christian Coleman, ending his four-year winning streak in the 100m. In his final individual race, Bolt won the bronze medal. He also participated in the 4 × 100 metres relay, but pulled up with a hamstring injury, refusing a wheelchair and crossing the finish line with his teammates.