USAIN BOLT
SPRINTER • JAMAICA • 1986
Eight-time Olympic and eleven-time World Champion, World Record holder athlete
Best results
Personal best:
9,58 WR
2009, Berlin
(100m)
19,19 WR
2009, Berlin
(200m)
Olympic Games:
8x 1. place
2008, Beijing: 9,69 (100 m), 19,30 (200 m)
2012, London: 9,63 (100 m), 19,32 (200 m), 36,84 (4×100 m relay)
2016 Rio de Janeiro: 9,81 (100 m), 19,78 (200 m), 37,27 (4×100 m relay)
World Championships:
11x 1. place
2009, Berlin: 9,58 (100 m), 19,19 (200 m), 37,31 (4×100 m relay)
2011, Daegu: 19,40 (200 m), 37,04 (4x100m relay)
2013, Moscow: 9,77 (100 m), 19,66 (200 m), 37,36 (4x100m relay)
2015, Beijing: 9,79 (100 m), 19,55 (200 m), 37,36 (4x100m relay)
2x 2. place
2007, Osaka: 19,91 (200 m), 37,89 (4×100 m relay)
1x 3. place
2017, London: 9,95 (100 m)
THE CROWN JEWEL OF THE JEWEL BOX
The personal story of museum founder János Angyal about this pair of sport shoes
Almost the entirety of our shoes collection comes from owners who participated at the Jumping Gala or are somehow connected to it. Following the death of István Gyulai, chief patron of the Jumping Gala and General Secretary of the IAAF, in 2006, I made the decision to honour his memory in a worthy way. István Gyulai was an excellent athlete, a multiple-times National Champion of Hungary in sprint events, therefore, I thought the crown jewel of our jewel box could be the signed shoes of the eight-time Olympic Champion and eleven-time World Champion sprinter, holder of multiple World Records: Usain Bolt.
Bolt’s shoes to Somoskő! Not an easy task, but I was looking for the opportunity. Back on July 6, 2003 Bolt’s compatriot, Germaine Mason won the men’s high jump at the Jumping Gala with a height of 230 centimetres. Thanks to Facebook I could stay connected to many former participants, thus I wrote to Mason if he could help in getting Bolt’s shoes. I knew they were great friends, as he was standing next to Bolt at the London premiere of the movie I am Bolt. Germaine assured me: János everything is alright, I am taking care of the shoes. However, April 20, 2017 brought the awful news that Germaine Mason, Olympic silver medallist high jumper passed away at the age of 34 in a motorcycle accident. According to the news, he was at a major sponsorship meeting along with Bolt. Germaine was riding at the front on his motorbike, while Bolt closed the convoy when the tragic accident happened. His death shook the big family of athletics. The photos from his funeral showed that Bolt was also carrying the coffin and later said in an interview that the death of his friend shook him so much that he was unable to train for weeks.
Later on the news spread that Bolt would hang up his shoes and finish his career at the World Championships in London. Before his retirement he was only going to stand at the starting line two times: in Ostrava and Monte Carlo. Alfonz Juck, manager of the Golden Spike competition in Ostrava, has been my long-time friend, thus, I asked for his cooperation in acquiring the long sought-after shoes. Alfonz gladly answered me that due to his deepest acknowledgements to István Gyulai, Bolt will dedicate his most expensive shoes – signed – to our Museum. The crown jewel, the signed spike shoes of Bolt, was delivered personally by my Somorja-based friend László Ásványi on July 22, 2017.