Usain Bolt wins in Brazil. The Jamaican sprinting sensation cruised to victory in the spring opener on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Easter Sunday. Earning a time of 14.42 seconds in the 150-meter dash, Usain Bolt bested his closest competition, Bruno Lins of Brazil by over half a second.
Many spectators saw this exhibition as a taste of what might be to come for Usain Bolt in the same city three years from now when Rio hosts the 2016 Summer Olympics.
"Definitely a good start for the season," Usain Bolt said, after besting Lins and fellow sprinters including Daniel Bailey of Antigua & Barbuda as well as South American favorite Alex Quiñones of Ecuador.
Usain Bolt reveled in his 150-meter race victory with the help of a number of Brazilian entertainers, dancing for the crowd on the shores of the Atlantic. Bolt's performance fell just short of his own world record, set in Manchester, England. His 2009 mark of 14.35 seconds still presents a challenge for Usain Bolt to contend with.
An overwhelming favorite at past Olympics, the 26-year-old Trelawny, Jamaica, native encountered some bad luck in the form of a leg injury that all but eliminated him from serious medal contention at his first appearance at the games in Athens in 2004. But, Usain Bolt stormed back onto the track in 2008 in Beijing, earning a gold medal in both the 100- and 200-meter dash as well as the 100-meter relay.
Usain Bolt most recently scored three more gold medals at the London Olympics last year in the exact same events. It will be interesting to see if Bolt is able to similarly monopolize the men's sprinting events in 2016, when he may well reappear on the sands of Copacabana Beach.
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