2008 Olympic Games

Sprint Sensation breaks 100m and 200m world records in Beijing

PUMA’s(R) Usain ‘Lightning’ Bolt of Jamaica made history Wednesday night in Beijing when he became the first man in history to break world records in the 100m and 200m at the same Games. Bolt again demolished the field with a winning time of 19.30 seconds, beating the previous time of 19.32 seconds set by Michael Johnson in Atlanta in 1996.

Bolt, who won 100m gold in a world record time of 9.69 seconds last Saturday, also became the first athlete since Carl Lewis in 1984 to win Olympic gold in both disciplines. The Jamaican sprinter ran to victory in his now famous personalized PUMA Theseus II golden spikes inscribed with his nickname and the night’s event — ‘UGO 200m Beijing’.

Inspired by Bolt’s victory, his Jamaican compatriot Melaine Walker also won gold in the women’s 400m hurdles on Wednesday, reinforcing Jamaica and PUMA’s sprint success in Beijing.

Usain’s Golden Theseus II Spikes

Bolt worked with PUMA to develop the optimum running shoe. Running both the 100m and 200m, he needed a versatile shoe that provided support for power, as well as firmness to hold his foot in place around the turn.

Following this collaborative process, the complete Theseus II was born. Made from synthetic leather with an airmesh upper construction for maximum breathability, it enhances sprinting efficiency due to its stiffness of material. Bolt was wearing the Theseus II shoe when he broke both the 100m and 200m world records in Beijing — both inscribed with a personalized message.

Follow Usain on his Quest for a third gold medal

Log onto www.chasingbolt.com, Usain’s personal blogumentary that gives fans the opportunity to gain an unprecedented look into the life of the world’s fastest man. Featuring videos, photo galleries and regular blog postings, Chasing Bolt offers an extraordinary insight into the man behind the medals.

Source: PUMA

Athletics at the 2008 Olympic Games will be held during the last 10 days of the games starting August 15. The events will take place at Beijing National Stadium, which is currently under construction for the games. The Olympic sport of Athletics is split into four distinct sets of events: track events, field events, combined events, and road events.

An NOC may enter up to 3 athletes per event if they all have met the A qualifying standard, or 1 athlete per event if he/she has met the B qualifying standard only. An NOC may also enter up to 1 relay team per event. The qualifying standards must be reached during the respective qualifying period at the competitions approved by IAAF.

Events:

100 m Dash; 200 m Dash; 400 m Dash; 800 m Run; 1,500 m Run; 5,000 m Run; 10,000 m Run; 100 m Hurdles; 110 m Hurdles; 3,000 m Steeplechase; High Jump; Pole Vault; Long Jump; Triple Jump; Shot Put; Discus Throw; Hammer Throw; Javelin Throw; Heptathlon; Decathlon; 20 km Race Walk; 50 km Race Walk; Marathon

The events programme for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games is quite similar to that of the Athens Games held in 2004. The 2008 Olympics will see the return of 28 sports, and will hold 302 events (165 men’s events, 127 women’s events, and 10 mixed events), one more event in total than in Athens.The following are the sports to be contested at the games (The number of events to be contested in each sport is indicated in parentheses):

• Aquatics (46)
• Archery (4)
• Athletics (47)
• Badminton (5)
• Baseball (1)
• Basketball (2)
• Boxing (11)
• Canoe / kayak (16)
• Cycling (18)
• Equestrian (6)
• Fencing (10)
• Football/Soccer (2)
• Gymnastics (18)
• Handball (2)
• Hockey (2)
• Judo (14)
• Modern pentathlon (2)
• Rowing (14)
• Sailing (11)
• Shooting (15)
• Softball (1)
• Table tennis (4)
• Taekwondo (8)
• Tennis (4)
• Triathlon (2)
• Volleyball (4)
• Weightlifting (15)
• Wrestling (18)