Sebastian Coe insists that Usain Bolt is already a legend ufffd despite the president of the International Olympic Committee stating the Jamaican sprinter will need to star at even more Games before he can attain that status.
IOC president Jacques Rogge’s downplaying of Bolt’s achievements follows his criticism of the sprinter’s showboating four years ago, but London 2012 chairman Coe has no doubts. Coe said: “Usain Bolt is clearly a legend — no one else has ever won back-to-back 100 metres and 200 metres.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Rogge said yesterday that Bolt was not yet on the same level as Carl Lewis, the American former sprinter and long-jumper who won Olympic titles at each Games from 1994 to 1996. Rogge, speaking before the 200m final, said: “If you look at the career of Lewis, he had (four) consecutive Games with a medal. Let him (Bolt) participate in three, four Games, and he can be a legend.”