The greatest athlete ever to lace up a pair of spikes Usain Bolt, will bring down the curtain on a stunning career when he bows out at the Olympic Stadium at the World Championships this summer. His competitive farewell to his Homeland Jamaica took place recently at the Racers GP; the event awoke a sense of realisation that the great man is really retiring this year and begs the question what happens after Bolt?

The pressure to secure a fitting end and to bow out on top will be immense for the 9 time Olympic champion, but one thing the great man is used to is pressure. Bolt has carried athletics through a dark age riddled with drug scandals and has emerged as the one true global superstar athlete, ever to represent athletics.

Athletics as a sport will obviously miss the presence of it’s supreme athlete on the track, but it is off the track where it could be argued that his absence will be most sorely felt. The incredible athletic ability, the temperament that enabled Bolt to always deliver while the entire world watched, and the larger than life loveable showman that he was throughout his successes, are all acts that must be replaced or replicated for athletics to continue to draw. The biggest question is: who is able to replace this once in a generation sprinting phenomenon?
 

Coleman has ran 9.82 this year, the fastest time of any athlete

  

The Future

Christian Coleman, 21 from the USA has burst on to the scene this winter, making a mockery of his young years while running times seasoned professionals dream of, albeit on the American collegiate circuit. For a collegiate athlete to show such promise at such an age has the world taking note; it is impossible not to see the potential for the next global superstar in an athlete tearing the US collegiate records books to shreds. Coleman has run a world leading 9.82 in the 100m this year and supplemented that with an outstanding 19.85 in the 200m. Off the track Coleman is being recognised too with Nike rewarding him with a 7 digit sponsorship deal to become their Athletics poster boy. While it’s likely that this summer will be too early for him to triumph on the world level in the 100m against Bolt,  it is certainly not a ridiculous claim that the passing of the torch could happen as early as the World Championships; a scene reminiscent of the great Jamaican’s at the Beijing Olympics 2008 is not beyond the young man.

Of course the future is certainly not only about Coleman, many recent breakthrough athletes have impressed early only to never quite reach their potential. Terrance Bromell burst on to the scene two years ago much like Coleman and enjoyed early success running 9.84. He followed this up with a world championship bronze and was highly fancied to push on from there as a major threat to Bolt. An indifferent year followed in which while cementing his place as an elite world sprinter, Brommell fell further away from the front pack in the Rio Olympics 2016 to finish 8th and has continued to fall short of his peak this year. He certainly could have a bright future and at just 22 years of age has plenty of potential.

Two further young athletes Christopher Belcher and Cameron Burrell have also tossed their hats into the mix tho be Bolt’s long term successor this year, both running sub 10 seconds in the 100m and are worth keeping an eye on in the years to come.

It is not only America who have emerging young sprinters ready to take over from the great Usain Bolt though. The production line of champions from Jamaica looks to have no plans on slowing as emerging athletes such as Lemar Bailey Cole, Odean Skeen and Julian Forte continue to show promise in the race to fill their hero’s size 13 shoes!

A sprinter who was sure to challenge for medals in London was the exciting young challenger Adrian De Grasse of Canada. Though for the purpose of the piece he is labelled part of sprintings future, De Grasse has already enjoyed success powering to a bronze medal last year at the Rio Olympics. Of the upcoming sprinters the Canadian is sure to be near the top of the sport in the near future, quite whether he’s capable of world record times or has the charisma to be the face of the sport is doubtful but he’s certainly a fantastic talent. Unfortunately any chance De Grasse had this year were ended as he has failed to recover from injury in time for the World championships in London.

The fact that Bolt has decided to retire doesnt necessarily mean that the other dominant sprinters of his era are finished however, far from it in fact.

  

Blake and Gatlin complete the podium at the London Olympics

 

The Present

Justin Gatlin is a name which divides opinion, most are unforgiving of his drug cheat laden past. He has for the past few years been Bolt’s greatest threat and has consistently proved the best sprinter on the circuit throughout the season. When arriving on the worlds largest stage he has always come up short when trying to topple the great Jamaican. Gatlin proved his credentials once more this summer storming to victory in the US trials and now shifts his focus to finally overcoming his nemesis in London in their last competitive showdown. At the age of 35 this should prove to be Gatlin’s last hurrah, he certainly wont be the man to carry the sport moving forwards but would love to finally triumph over Bolt.

Since 2011 most followers of thesport believed that a ready made heir to Usain Bolt’s throne was already racing, this being his great friend and training partner Yohan Blake. Blake is the second fastest man of all time in both the 100m and 200m disciplines. In the years since Usain Bolt exploded onto the scene at the Beijing Olympics 2008, Blake is the only man other than Bolt to win a global championship in either the 100m or 200m. Bolt was disqualified at the 2011 World Championships for a fault start allowing Blake to power to his first global championship. In the build up to the 2012 London Olympic Games Blake was widely fancied having beaten Bolt at the Jamaican trials in both the 100m and 200m disciplines, only for the great champion to once again rise to the occasion consigning Blake to two Silver medals.

Blake is likeable and charismatic and definitely has the pedigree to follow Bolt. He has  shown in the times that he has run that he is a sprinter of the very highest caliber, however injuries have plagued the young Jamaican in recent years leading to him being a shadow of his former self on the track. In an encouraging return to form Blake won the sprint double at the Jamaican trials (Bolt was absent), doing so by running the fastest time in the 100m that he has managed in two years. If Blake has finally managed to put his injury nightmare behind him look to him to begin to rediscover his form and be a force for years to come.

While the above are great on track athletes there is one great young sprinter who has the ability to match Bolt’s achievements and take over the mantle of  carrying athletics forward.

Van Niekerk stuns Kirani James and Leshawn Merritt to smash the world record in 43.03

The Superstar and the South African revolution

The great South African hope Wade Van Niekerk has already cemented his legacy as a great of the sport regardless of his young years. He shocked the world to smash the great Michael Johnson’s 17 year old 400m record running 43.03 at the Rio Olympics from lane 8! What makes this man even more special however is that he is superb at the shorter distances too; he is of an elite group having run sub 10 Seconds in the 100m and sub 20 seconds in 200m, also having broke 44 seconds (and almost breaking 43!!) in the 400m.

It is difficult not to get excited about Van Neikerk’s achievements thus far, though I suspect these will be far surpassed with the raw talent and rate of progression that he continues to show. There will never be another Usain Bolt but the young South African has all the tools needed to create his own legacy that matches that of the great man. In fact if conditions were perfect and he was not too tired from also running the 400m in London, I suspect he could challenge Bolt’s 200m World record. What he may lack in top speed in comparison to Bolt, he makes up with superior speed endurance and it is a crying shame that the two athletes era’s did not coincide in a rivalry which could have pushed sprinting boundaries into a different stratosphere. Van Niekerk has chiselled good looks and a humble, likeable persona personified by his attachment to his 74 year old coach Ana Botha to which he dedicates much of his success. He would be a great face of Athletics as the sport tries to escape the dark cloud that emanates from the drug scandals of the past.

Van Niekerk heads a new revolution of South African sprinters including World under 18 champions Retshidisitswe Mlenga and Tshenolo Lemao in addition to Thando Roto and Akani Simbine who have run sub 10 seconds this season. Simbine in particular has been impressive clocking multiple sub 10 clockings, however when outside his home country he has failed to really deliver in the bigger races thus far. Look for South Africa to be a major sprinting powerhouse for years to come both individually and in the relay events.

It will truly be the end of an era when one of the greatest sportsmen ever to compete , Usain Bolt, pulls down the curtain on his mesmerising career next week. In terms of a global superstar Wade Van Niekerk will hope to fulfil his potential to become the star that transcends the sport as Bolt has. On the track the South African will likely be challenged in the 200m by Coleman, De Grasse and Blake, leaving them to fight for supremacy in the 100m and in doing so, creating new rivalries to ignite a new cycle in athletics history. There is most certainly life after Bolt and his records will one day be broken of that there is no doubt. Time will tell if we will ever see a superstar on the scale of Usain Bolt in athletics again  and while those he leaves behind have the talent to keep athletics moving forwards, the man, the athlete, the entertainer… the Legend .. will be sorely missed.