'Lightning Bolt' strikes Beijing

When I was a cub reporter, the desk was quite strict about not using cliches in our stories. "Me o shirokuro," or "roll one's eyes in surprise," was one of those hackneyed expressions we were never, ever, supposed to use.

Also unacceptable to our drillmaster/desk was "shogeki ga hashiru," which translates literally as "shock waves run." Office legend has it that when a rookie made the mistake of resorting to this cliche, the desk wrote "shogeki" in big letters on a sheet of paper, stuck it on the back of the hapless rookie, and made him run around the newsroom.

But even our drillmaster, now retired, must have rolled his eyes in surprise last Saturday night when Usain Bolt sprinted his way to victory in the men's 100-meter dash in Beijing.

How else could anyone describe this Jamaican's feat as something other than an event that sent "shock waves" around the world?

Whereas most sprinters today wear form-fitting clothes, Bolt's yellow running shirt flapped as he ran, making me think of breezes in the Caribbean.

He must have known he'd won before he crossed the finish line. Just before the goal, he slowed down as if to dance, and pounded his chest.

I was utterly awed that even with this little antic, he still set a phenomenal world record of 9.69 seconds, becoming the first person to run under 9.7 seconds.

Olympic medals are awarded to the top three finishers in each event, but in reality, each event has only one winner and the rest are losers. Bolt's performance made it all too clear that he alone was the winner. Richard Thompson, who finished second, said after the race that he could see Bolt stretching out his arms when he was still pumping to the finish line.

Our interest in the fastest speed any human can run owes largely to the easy-to-grasp criterion of "100 meters in 10 seconds."

Masaru Ogawa, a sports writer, says in his book "10-byo no Kabe" (The 10-second barrier): "In terms of records in all sports, (the 10-second barrier) represents the ultimate mathematical beauty."

Traditionally, the athletes who embody that beauty have been given nicknames such as "Akatsuki no Chotokkyu" (Super Express at Dawn) and "Dangan" (Bullet)--names that suggest streamlined objects. I understand Bolt is called "Lightning Bolt."

And at 21 years of age, this awesome bolt of lightning is quite likely to keep lowering the ultimate number.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Aug. 18(IHT/Asahi: August 19,2008)