Six years, 11 months, and 29 days have passed since Usain Bolt completed his last competitive race, which took place in the summer of 2017 in London at the world championship 100-meter final, when he finished third behind Justin Gatlin. However, he is still visible in the sport. He is present in the boxes at the top of the official start lists that list the world and Olympic records; he is present again when those same times appear on the digital scoreboards at the finish line to remind you of the personal bests and disappointments of the competitors; and he is present in the epic moment montages that are shown on the enormous screens prior to the start of the session.
Above all, though, you become aware of him only by virtue of his absence. Given the way he talks about the sport in interviews, you have to wonder whether World Athletics wouldn’t have liked it if he had stayed that way at times. “I believe that a superstar may be all that the sport now lacks. People were searching for the next big star to emerge, someone who would truly shine, when I left, you know? In one last year, he stated, “I think that’s what the sport is missing right now.”
In a different one, he stated, “I think track and field gets overlooked since I retired. It needs attention.” Although I enjoy competing, track & field has to change.
Instead, the roughly 70,000 spectators at the Stade witnessed one of Femke Bol’s incredible runs, as the 24-year-old single-handedly guided the Dutch team to victory in the mixed 4x400m relay. When Bol grabbed the baton, she was in fourth place. However, she uncorked a 47.93 split that saw her get by Amber Anning of Great Britain, Naomi Van Den Broeck of Belgium, and Kaylyn Brown of the USA as she approached the home stretch. Bol is just a “t” off, though. Additionally, her 400-meter hurdles matchup with Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone will
