August 16, 2009: Usain Bolt, just short of his 23rd birthday, becomes the fastest human being ever measured.
Usain St. Leo Bolt was born on August 21, 1986 in Sherwood Content, Jamaica. He has donated millions of dollars to rebuilding projects in that small town. Competing for Jamaica, he won 3 Gold Medals in 3 straight Olympics, winning the 100 meters, the 200 meters, and the 4-by-100-meter relay in Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Rio de Janeiro 2016.
The winner of the Olympic 100 meters has long been unofficially called "the fastest man in the world." We may never know who was really the fastest man who has ever lived, but when he set a record of 9.58 seconds in the 100 meters in the 2009 IAAF World Championships of Athletics at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, he reached a top speed of 27.8 miles per hour.
How fast is that? When Secretariat, a horse, won the 1973 Belmont Stakes by 31 lengths, his average speed was 37.5 MPH. Bolt was 74 percent of the way to beating Secretariat.
Or, to put it another way: Theoretically, if a sprinting speed could be maintained (it can’t), then, at 27.8 MPH, Usain Bolt could run from Times Square to Kennedy Airport in under 34 minutes. Try getting from Times Square to JFK in 34 minutes in a car!
Or, to put it another way: Theoretically, if a sprinting speed could be maintained (it can’t), then, at 27.8 MPH, Usain Bolt could run from Times Square to Kennedy Airport in under 34 minutes. Try getting from Times Square to JFK in 34 minutes in a car!
*
August 16, 2009 was a Sunday. These Major League Baseball games were played:
* The New York Yankees lost to the Seattle Mariners, 10-3 at Safeco Field (now T-Mobile Park) in Seattle. Doug Fister outpitched Joba Chamberlain. Ken Griffey Jr., having returned to the Mariners, went 1-for-5. Nick Swisher homered for the Yankees. Derek Jeter went 3-for-4 with an RBI. Alex Rodriguez went 1-for-4.
* The New York Mets beat the San Francisco Giants, 3-2 at Citi Field. Daniel Murphy singled Jeff Francoeur home with the winning run in the bottom of the 9th inning, making Francisco Rodríguez a winning pitcher, in relief of Mike Pelfrey. Luis Castillo hit a home run for the Mets.
* The Los Angeles Angels beat the Baltimore Orioles, 17-8 at Camden Yards in Baltimore. The Orioles scored a run in the 8th and another in the 9th to send the game to extra innings. But the Angels started the top of the 13th with 5 straight singles, and ended it wit 9 runs, including a 3-run home run by Juan Rivera.
* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Atlanta Braves, 4-1 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta. J.A. Happ outpitched Javier Vázquez. Ryan Howard went 3-for-3 with a home run, a walk, and 4 RBIs.
* The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 5-2 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.
* A doubleheader was split at Land Shark Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida. The Florida Marlins won the opener, 10-3. The Colorado Rockies won the nightcap, 7-3.
* The Washington Nationals beat the Cincinnati Reds, 5-4 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.
* The Kansas City Royals beat the Detroit Tigers, 3-2 at Comerica Park in Detroit. Ryan Rayburn, the Tigers' 3rd baseman made 2 errors in the top of the 10th inning, giving the Royals the win.
* The Houston Astros beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 8-5 at Miller Park (now American Family Field) in Milwaukee.
* The Cleveland Indians beat the Minnesota Twins, 7-4 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.
* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the San Diego Padres, 7-5 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.
* The Texas Rangers beat the Boston Red Sox, 4-3 at Rangers Ballpark in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. David Ortiz and Dustin Pedroia hit home runs for the Red Sox.
* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 9-3 at Chase Field in Phoenix.
* And the Oakland Athletics beat the Chicago White Sox, 3-2 at the Oakland Coliseum. Mark Ellis hit a home run in the bottom of the 9th inning.
