Take the 200m world record as a prime example, just moments after Michael Johnson implied his time would not be beaten Bolt went and broke it.
At the Beijing 2008 Olympics, Bolt ran 19.19s to break Johnson’s longstanding record of 19.32s.
In the same competition he also broke the 100m record running 9.69s, a time he bettered the year after.
Before the race Johnson said: “He’s going to do it, he’s going to break the 200m world record there’s no doubt about it. It’s just not going to happen this year.”
Johnson was presenting at the Olympics and witnessed Bolt break cement his legacy live in the stadium.
“I said anytime he’s on the track it’s possible, and then I said I didn’t think he would,” Johnson joked.
It was the beginning of Bolt’s quick rise to fame as the face of athletics and arguably the Olympics beside all-time greats such as Michael Phelps.
In an interview with TNT Sports the Jamaican recalled: “It was the day before my birthday. They sang Happy Birthday to me at the stadium when I collected my medal the day after.
“For me, it’s my favourite event. I love to be the fastest man in the world but the 200m means a lot more to me because it’s something that I worked very hard to perfect.