World Athletics Championships: Meet the five fastest men on Earth

The 2015 edition of the World Athletics Championships is scheduled to start from 22nd August and go on till 30th August in Beijing, China. This sporting extravaganza is touted to be the largest event to take place in the Beijing National Stadium after the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Comprising runners, running faster than the speed of lightning and world-class rivalries, a matter of seconds will play the all-important role of deciding who earns gold and who earns silver at this edition of the World Championships.

With just one day to go for the festivities to begin, we take you through the lives of the five fastest men on Earth.

1. Usain Bolt
Twenty-eight year old Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt is a name familiar to most of us. Widely regarded as the fastest person ever, he had announced on February that he would retire after the 2017 World Championships, making this his second-last run. Among his many achievements, one that stands out is undoubtedly him being the first man to hold both the 100 metres and 200 metres world records.
At the world championships this year, Bolt will face Justin Gaitlin for the first time and their race which will take place on Sunday evening in Beijing is easily going to be the most anticipated race.

2. Tyson Gay
Thirty-three year old American track and field sprinter Tyson Gay is the second fastest athlete, with his 100 m personal best of 9.69 seconds making the American record. Gay is also a four-time U.S champion in the 100 m.
In July 2013, Gay had tested positive for a banned substance, following which he withdrew from consideration for the World Championships in Moscow, leading to the United States Anti-Doping Agency suspending him till 23 June, 2014 and stripping him off his silver medal earned at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
At the world championships this year, he is looking to emerge victorious against Justin Gaitlin, who defeated him and Asafa Powell in a 100m in Lausanne, Switzerland in July, which was considered a preview of the World Championships.

3. Yohan Blake
Twenty-three year old Jamaican sprinter Yohan Blake became the youngest 100 m champion when he won the gold medal at the 2011 world championships. Nicknamed, ‘The Beast,” Blake’s 100 m personal best of 9.69 seconds equaled him with Tyson Gay for the distinction of the second fastest man. Blake is also the only man, apart from Usain Bolt to break the 19.30 in the 200 m.
At the World Championships this year, Blake should look towards overcoming the fear of an injury, as said by his coach Glen Mills.

4. Asafa Powell
Thirty-two year old Asafa Powell, another Jamaican sprinter who specializes in 100 m races, held the 100 m world record for almost three years, between June 2005 to May, 2008, with times of 9.77 and 9.74 seconds respectively.
Powell had won the men’s 100 m event at the Luzern meet this June after clocking 9.87 seconds. At the World Championships this year, he is eyeing for nothing, but gold.


5. Justin Gatlin
Thirty- three year old American sprinter, Justin Gaitlin is a twice World indoor champion in the 60-metre dash, who clocked his 100 m personal best of 9.74 seconds, this May in Doha.
Going head-on with Usain Bolt in the 100m and 200m races at this World Championships, Gaitlin is unfazed of the big ‘bad guy’ tag handed down to him, in case he defeats Bolt.
Gaitlin also refuses to consider himself as a ‘doping cheat,’ arguing that his testing positive for a stimulant for the first time was a result of medication he was using over the years. The second, he claimed was a result of a masseur rubbing testosterone cream into his legs.