Usain Bolt tends to make things look easy, but the Jamaican superstar took it to a new level on his way to a third consecutive Olympic gold in the 100-meter dash Sunday night. Before he even got to that point, the lasting image of Bolt’s dominant night came in the semifinal heat, before he reached the finish line.
[Bolt takes place among greatest all-time athletes]
You didn’t even have to watch the race to know what happened. As he easily strode past his competition, Bolt glanced over his shoulder at the other runners and flashed his magnetic smile, once again showing why he’s equally lovable to his fans and soul crushing to his opponents.
The image, snapped by Australian photographer Cameron Spencer for Getty, pretty much sums up Bolt’s dominance and will probably go down as the most memorable of the Rio Olympics. Srdjan Suki of the European Pressphoto Agency caught another angle:
It is far from the first time that Bolt has grinned on the track as he’s left his opponents in the dust, but never before has he made the Internet lose its mind like he did with the pictures from Sunday night. The meme-fest began shortly after the photos were released, and it didn’t stop there.
— Luke Cripwalker (@sporker_) August 15, 2016
— Grant Goldberg (@grantgoldberg) August 15, 2016
— Hector Diaz (@iamHectorDiaz) August 15, 2016
when you write a provocative tweet and then sign off pic.twitter.com/8dz0XOfcIf
— Mina Kimes (@minakimes) August 15, 2016
Bolt stops, takes a selfie, then continues to win the race. pic.twitter.com/tvr7FxEcQg
— Kevin McSorley (@Sloopjb619) August 15, 2016
Spencer’s image is probably set to be the most iconic of a career that has been spent in front of the cameras, although Bolt gave the world plenty more colorful material before and after his race Sunday night. Here are a few more:
More on the Olympics:
Gabby Douglas, her Olympics over, tearfully responds to social media critics
Proud feminist Andy Murray reminds everyone the Williams sisters are good
