World's fastest man to run in Switzerland after Olympics

Usain Bolt of Jamaica, the fastest man in the world, will run in Switzerland five days after the Olympics, organizers said Monday.

Photo: World's fastest man to run in Switzerland after Olympics

Bolt, the world 100 record-holder, has committed to run the sprint event at the Weltklasse meeting in Zurich on Friday, August 29.

The 21-year-old set a 100 meters world record time of 9.72 seconds in New York City last month.

On Saturday Bolt qualified for the Beijing Games at the Jamaica Olympic trials in Kingston, running 9.85 to beat former world record holder Asafa Powell into second place.

Usain Bolt (born 21 August 1986) is a Jamaican sprinter. He is the current world record holder in the 100 m (9.72 s) and the world junior and Jamaican record holder over 200 m (19.75 s). His name and achievements in sprinting have earned him the media nickname "The Lightning Bolt".

Bolt was born in Trelawny, Jamaica and educated at William Knibb High School. At the age of 15 he won a gold and two silver medals at the 2002 World Junior Championships in front of a home crowd in Kingston. He won another gold medal at the World Youth Championships, running the 200 m in 20.40 seconds.

In 2004 Bolt ran the 200 m in 19.93 seconds, becoming the first junior to break the 20-second mark; breaking Lorenzo Daniel's world junior record.

At the 2007 Jamaican Championships, Bolt ran 19.75, breaking the 36-year-old national record held by Don Quarrie by 0.11 seconds. At the World Championships in Osaka, Bolt won a silver medal in the 200 m behind American Tyson Gay.

On 3 May 2008, Bolt ran 9.76 (+1.8 m/s) in the 100 m at the Jamaica Invitational, then the second fastest legal performance in the history of the event, behind compatriot Asafa Powell. Later that month, on 31 May 2008, Bolt ran 9.72 (+1.7 m/s), establishing a new world record in the 100 m at the Reebok Grand Prix in New York, breaking the 9.74-second record of Powell. This was only his 5th senior run over the distance.

Bolt is highly rated by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and has received two IAAF Rising Star awards. The IAAF has described Bolt as "the future of 200 m running". He is coached by Glen Mills and currently attends the University of Technology, Jamaica. Bolt has run 100 m in under 10 seconds 4 times.

AP photo