Watch: Usain Bolt is also really good at throwing javelins
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Usain Bolt is the unquestioned fastest man in the world, but the Jamaican sprinter gave a glimpse of more of his outstanding physical talent with a tremendous javelin toss.
The 30-year-old sprinter capped his Olympic career with a ninth gold medal Friday night, anchoring Jamaica’s winning 4×100-meter relay team and tearing away from the rest of the field down the stretch.
Hours later, long after the buzzing crowd left Olympic Stadium and only a smattering of volunteers, athletes, media and coaches were left, Bolt tried his hand at the javelin and pulled off a 56-meter throw.
That mark is even more impressive considering Bolt has never competed in the event and had far from perfect technique:
#Bolt doin' some #javelin #Rio2016 #Olympics #dpareporter pic.twitter.com/HIReXANOkg
— Martin Moravec (@moravecma) August 20, 2016
A throw of 56 meters is far from the 90.3-meter throw that earned Germany’s Thomas Rohler a gold medal in the event, but it was just a few meters behind the 59.77-meter throw recorded by decathlon gold medal winner Ashton Eaton.
Bolt has a strong claim as the one of the greatest athletes in history, and at 6-foot-5 it shouldn’t come as a surprise that he’s good at more than just running fast. He even entertained the idea of competing in the long jump, something that former sprinting stars Jesse Owens and Carl Lewis both earned gold in.
It’s probably safe to say we’ll never get a chance to see what other sports and feats Bolt could use his unprecedented speed and explosiveness to excel at, but it’s sure fun to think about.
