When Bolt turned Stratford into downtown Kingston

London: Stratford, where the main Olympic stadium is located, could have been downtown Kingston Thursday night. Jamaicans, indeed people from all nationalities, made it a carnival, right there, right now, shortly after Usain Bolt had brought the curtain down on the day’s proceedings with another stunning sprint to win the 200m final. Reggae music blared, the sidewalk just outside Stratford station became a dance floor as people let their hair down till the wee hours of the morning. The cops and volunteers didn’t intervene. As a unformed one said, “if it wasn’t for reasons of duty and propriety, I would be dancing too.’’ In less than 30 secs (adding up his timings in the two sprints), Bolt had got the whole world in sync it seemed. Whatever else may have happened at the Games before his races, and may happen later, these were events that had captured the imagination of people like nothing else. [caption id=“attachment_414115” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Fans celebrate Bolt’s win. AP[/caption] No disrespect to the other inspiring and marvellous sportspersons of various disciplines who have participated here, but there is little doubt that the core of the Olympics – perhaps its most thrilling – lies in its Greek origins. When track and field events begin, the Games light up. This is the arena, or coliseum if you prefer to take a journey back in time, where the Olympic credo of altius, citius, fortius finds most thrilling and dramatic expression as men and women compete for glory, recognition, reward. While it is true that human achievement and the thresholds of extreme endurance are put to test in every discipline, the magic of track and field remains unsurpassed. So, while Michael Phelps may have few challengers for being the greatest Olympian of all time, Usain Bolt on the track is more likely to bring the world to a standstill. Without being partisan, the way Michael Phelps demonstrated his mastery over the water in both Beijing and London, Bolt just overpowered all comers on the race track here too. At Beijing he had set Olympic records in both 100 and 200m;  here, there was only one to his name, but in sum total, his exploits at London are perhaps more significant than from four years back. Before these Games began there were sniggers and whispers that Bolt had had his day and that he was going to be a washout here. He had lost to Yohan Blake twice before reaching London, and some experts reckoned his time was up. Not surprisingly, as Bolt elegantly loped his way across the finish line of the 200 m race, he had his finger to his lips. Nobody in the history of the Olympics had ever defended the 200m title. His critics were most emphatically silenced. But as always, Bolt was profuse with words — before and after the race. “There is no doubt who is going to come out on top, this is my favourite event,’’ he said after the semi-final. “People always doubt the champion, but I don’t have any doubts.’’ After the race, he was pither, but no less telling. “I told you, didn’t I tell you?,’’ he said, eyes twinkling, swerving and swaying his body in the way only people from the Caribbean can. Call it bragging if you must, but name a single other athlete at the Olympics who had greater right to this?