Bolt is able to get a quick launch from state-of-the-art starting blocks, but Owens must dig his own “starting blocks” out of the cinders with a gardening trowel. Owens, who won the 100 meters with a time of 10.3 seconds in the 1936 Olympics-one of four gold medals he claimed in Berlin-is wearing leather running shoes. Bolt had to forfeit a gold medal he won as part of a relay in the 2008 Olympics after a teammate tested positive. He has never tested positive, but suspicion follows many top Olympic athletes of his time. Bolt also has been at his peak during the height of the steroids era in sports. He jets to competitions and has his own cook, who makes him lean, nutritious meals. For his entire competitive life, he has received the finest training the world has ever seen. Then there’s Owens in his pre-World War II lane, an uneven bed of cinders, a soft surface that actually steals energy from his legs as he runs.īolt, the Jamaican sprinting legend who has eight Olympic gold medals and has held the world records in the men’s 100- and 200-meter sprints for nearly a decade, is wearing lightweight shoes made specifically for running on high-tech surfaces. Jesse Owens.īolt is in his 21st-century lane, a smooth, slip-resistant rubber surface spread out for 100 meters, designed to quickly return energy to his legs as he races across it. The race for the ages can be run only in our imagination: Usain Bolt vs. This story appears in the July 2018 issue of National Geographic magazine.
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