The year he turned 16, he won the 200m at the World Junior Championships in Kingston as the youngest winner of a global under-20 title. The year he turned 17, he ran 20.13 seconds at the Pan American Junior Championships, equaling the world junior record. The year he turned 18, he set a world junior record of 19.93 seconds in the 200m. The year he turned 21, he won silver medals in the 200m and the 4x100m relay at the World Championships in Osaka.
The breakthrough yearThe year he turned 22, he lowered the 100m world record to 9.72 seconds in May, then won the Olympic 100m in Beijing in a world-record 9.69. He added the 200m in 19.30 and the relay in 37.10, both world records.
The year he turned 23, he ran 9.58 in the 100m and 19.19 in the 200m at the World Championships in Berlin, and received the Order of Jamaica in October. The year he turned 25, he was disqualified from the world 100m final in Daegu for a false start. The year he turned 26, he defended the Olympic 100m title in an Olympic record of 9.63 seconds.
The year he turned 28, he anchored Jamaica to relay gold at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. The year he turned 29, he said in February that he would retire after the 2017 World Championships, and in August he beat Justin Gatlin by one hundredth of a second in the 100m final in Beijing. The year he turned 30, he won a third Olympic 100m title in Rio and the relay, and in December he was named World Athlete of the Year for a sixth time.
The year he turned 31, the IOC stripped Jamaica of the 2008 relay gold in January, Bolt pulled up in his final race at the World Championships in London in August, and a statue of him was unveiled in Kingston in December.
The year he turned 32, he trained with football clubs in Norway and Australia and scored twice in his first start for Central Coast Mariners in October. The year he turned 37, his lawyers said that more than $12.7 million was missing from his account with a private investment firm in Jamaica.
The year he turned 39, he said in Tokyo that he was not worried about sprinters breaking his world records. The year he turned 40, he was listed as a registered player for a Manchester veterans football team in August and was an ambassador for the first World Athletics Ultimate Championship in September.
Usain Bolt (born Aug 21, 1986) won the world junior 200m on Jul 19, 2002, the year he turned 16. He became known in 2008, the year he turned 22, when he won the Olympic 100m in a world record on Aug 16, 2008. He ran the 100m world record of 9.58 on Aug 16, 2009.
Ages are by calendar year (the year minus the birth year), birthdays aside.
Won the 200m at the World Junior Championships in Kingston, the youngest winner of a global under-20 title, The Independent on Sunday reported.
Source 01 · The Independent on Sunday · The boy they call Lightning is frightening · opens in a new tabSource 02 · The Guardian · Usain Bolt: Fast and loose · opens in a new tabSource 03 · Wikipedia · Usain Bolt · opens in a new tab Date from Wikipedia; not confirmed in news reports.Ran 20.13 seconds at the Pan American Junior Championships in Barbados. The Independent on Sunday said that unless a reader followed track and field closely, they would probably not have heard of him.
Source 01 · The Independent on Sunday · The boy they call Lightning is frightening · opens in a new tab Month from The Independent on Sunday (“last month” in an article dated 17 August 2003).Ran 19.93 seconds in the 200m. The Guardian listed him in 2006 as the junior record holder at 19.93.
Source 04 · The Guardian · Liu eclipses Jackson with 110m hurdles record · opens in a new tabSource 03 · Wikipedia · Usain Bolt · opens in a new tab Month from Wikipedia; not confirmed in news reports.Took silver in the 200m and in the 4x100m relay at the World Championships in Osaka.
Source 05 · BBC Sport · Ten to watch: Usain Bolt · opens in a new tabSource 03 · Wikipedia · Usain Bolt · opens in a new tab Date of the 200m final from Wikipedia; not confirmed in news reports.Ran 9.72 seconds on a Saturday night, in what The Independent said was only his fifth serious 100m race.
Source 06 · The Independent · “Lightning” Bolt storms to record in 100 metres · opens in a new tabRan 9.69 seconds in the Beijing final and became Jamaica’s first men’s 100m Olympic champion. The Guardian reported that within days, Usain Bolt watches, stamps and T-shirts were on sale.
Won in 19.30 seconds, beating Michael Johnson’s world record of 19.32.
Source 09 · BBC Sport · Bolt claims 200m gold with record · opens in a new tabJamaica won in a world-record 37.10 seconds, Bolt’s third gold and third world record of the Games.
Source 10 · BBC Sport · Bolt grabs third gold and record · opens in a new tabSource 08 · The Guardian · Olympics: Jamaican speed freak · opens in a new tabWon the 100m final in Berlin in 9.58 seconds, 0.11 seconds better than his Beijing record.
Source 11 · The New York Times · Bolt Shatters 100-Meter World Record · opens in a new tabWon the world championships 200m in Berlin in 19.19 seconds, breaking his own record of 19.30. BBC Sport reported that he was the first man to hold the 100m and 200m world and Olympic titles at the same time.
Source 12 · BBC Sport · Awesome Bolt breaks 200m record · opens in a new tabReceived the Order of Jamaica in Kingston and, at 23, became its youngest recipient, the AP reported.
Source 13 · CBC Sports (AP) · World’s fastest man Bolt gets Order of Jamaica · opens in a new tabWas disqualified for a false start in the 100m final in Daegu. Jamaican Yohan Blake won gold in 9.92 seconds.
Source 14 · BBC Sport · World Athletics 2011: Bolt disqualified as Blake wins gold · opens in a new tabWon in an Olympic record of 9.63 seconds, the first man to defend an Olympic sprint title since Carl Lewis in 1988.
Source 15 · The Guardian · Usain Bolt takes 100m Olympic gold – this time even faster · opens in a new tabSource 03 · Wikipedia · Usain Bolt · opens in a new tab Date from Wikipedia; the Guardian report is dated 6 August 2012.Ran the final leg of the 4x100m relay in Glasgow, only his second competitive outing of the season, and Jamaica won gold.
Source 16 · BBC Sport · Usain Bolt: Glasgow 2014 gold for Jamaica in 4x100m relay · opens in a new tabSaid he would retire after the World Championships in London and focus on the 100m in 2017. He had earlier suggested Rio 2016 would be his last major championship.
Source 17 · BBC Sport · Usain Bolt to retire after 2017 Worlds Championships in London · opens in a new tabBeat Justin Gatlin by one hundredth of a second in the 100m final.
Source 18 · The Daily Telegraph · Usain Bolt beats Justin Gatlin by one hundredth of a second in 100m World Championship final · opens in a new tabRan 9.81 seconds in Rio, the first athlete to win three Olympic 100m titles.
Source 19 · BBC Sport · Rio Olympics 2016: Usain Bolt wins 100m gold, Justin Gatlin second · opens in a new tabAnchored Jamaica to 4x100m gold in 37.27 seconds, his third gold of the Games and ninth at the Olympics, completing a third straight sweep of the 100m, 200m and relay.
Source 20 · The Guardian · Usain Bolt leads Jamaica to 4x100m gold to complete Olympic triple treble · opens in a new tabSource 03 · Wikipedia · Usain Bolt · opens in a new tab Date from Wikipedia; the Guardian report is dated 20 August 2016.Won the IAAF male Athlete of the Year award for a record sixth time.
Source 21 · BBC Sport · Usain Bolt wins IAAF World Athlete of the Year award for a record sixth time · opens in a new tabThe International Olympic Committee announced that Jamaica’s 2008 Olympic 4x100m relay team was stripped of its gold after a retest of a teammate’s Beijing sample found a banned stimulant. Bolt lost one of his nine Olympic gold medals.
Source 22 · BBC Sport · Usain Bolt loses one Olympic gold medal as a teammate tests positive · opens in a new tabSource 23 · The Guardian · Usain Bolt stripped of 2008 Olympic relay gold after a teammate fails drug test · opens in a new tabStopped on the anchor leg of the 4x100m final at the World Championships in London. The Jamaican team doctor diagnosed a cramp in his left hamstring, and Bolt had taken bronze in the 100m a week earlier.
Source 24 · ESPN · Usain Bolt collapses in final race; team doctor says it was a cramp · opens in a new tabAn eight-foot bronze statue was unveiled at Jamaica’s National Stadium, and Bolt attended the ceremony.
Source 25 · World Athletics · Bolt statue unveiled in Kingston · opens in a new tabTrained with Stromsgodset for a week, with a training match against Norway’s Under-19s scheduled. He had already trained with Borussia Dortmund and Sundowns that year.
Source 26 · BBC Sport · Usain Bolt trains with Norwegian top-flight side Stromsgodset · opens in a new tabScored the third and fourth goals in a 4–0 friendly win over Macarthur South West, his first goals for a professional football team.
Source 27 · BBC Sport · Usain Bolt scores twice on first start for Australia’s Central Coast Mariners · opens in a new tabThe club said efforts to find a commercial solution to keep him had failed, ending his trial. He had joined the A-League side in August and did not play a match once the season began.
Source 28 · BBC News · Usain Bolt leaves Australia’s Central Coast Mariners football club · opens in a new tabHis lawyers said more than $12.7 million was missing from his account with a private investment firm in Jamaica, which authorities were investigating, the AP reported.
Source 29 · AP (KSL) · Attorneys: Jamaica’s Usain Bolt missing $12.7M from account · opens in a new tabSaid at a Puma event in Tokyo that he was not worried about sprinters breaking his 100m and 200m world records, set in Berlin 16 years earlier.
Source 30 · AP (theScore) · Bolt ‘not worried’ about sprinters breaking his records · opens in a new tabThe Football Association’s Full-Time website listed Bolt, 40, as a registered player for Wythenshawe Vets FC in the Cheshire Veterans Football League, BBC Sport reported.
Source 31 · BBC Sport · Bolt registers to play for Manchester Sunday league team · opens in a new tabWas in Budapest as an ambassador for the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship, Sportstar reported.
Source 32 · Sportstar · Usain Bolt misses thrill of competition but says athletics now belongs to new generation · opens in a new tab Month from Sportstar (published 13 September 2026); the day is not given.END OF SELECTED RECORDSSelected records, 2002–2026 · not a complete list of work. “Key moment” is an editorial label, not a measure of success.
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Sports · Jamaica
Aug 21, 1986 —
Ages are counted from the birth year 1986: the year of the event minus 1986, birthdays aside. “Key moment” labels and the connecting story are AgeTrail's editorial reading.
Fact-checked: 2026.09.30 · An independent archive, not affiliated with the person or their agency.