His dominance is frustrating, maddening. Not because he wins all the time, or because it's never even close. But because Usain Bolt, the fastest sprinter ever to run the earth, doesn't even need to try.
It's like watching a man run against children. Not just Bolt's height, which both spatially and chronologically put him on a separate plane from even the second through seventh fastest men alive. You watch him take his lead then downshift, daring them to catch him, giving them a few milliseconds of hope, and you think nothing so much as a camp counselor dogging it in a footrace to let the kids catch up.
The contrast is striking in the photographs. His rivals are taut, contorting their faces, pistoning their muscles with every last ounce of effort they can muster. They are men forcing themselves to the breaking point. He is like a man out for a jog. Occasionally he puffs his cheeks or bares his teeth, but there is none of the tension, none of the strain. He looks around him on the track; he looks up at the stadium's video screen. He is bored. He pushes himself no further than he has to.
This is the downside of greatness. True greatness, beyond even Michael Phelps, who fights for every inch of pool and can even be caught on occasion. When you're superman, what is left to prove to the mortals? In 2012, with runners faster than ever before, Usain Bolt could be beating them by laughable margins. He could be challenging new world records every time out. He could be racing his own best. Instead, he's content enough to win. That's what hurts so bad, because though we know he's the best, he makes no effort to tackle the only important question: How fast can Usain Bolt go? Maybe he's doing this for our own good. Maybe we'd be afraid of the answer.
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