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TOKYO: On the night track turned to Jamaica once again to find the World’s Fastest Man, the greatest Jamaican sprinter was in a sky box in the stadium — his presence literally hovering over a sport that hasn’t been the same since he left.
Oblique Seville might be the new 100-meter world champion. Usain Bolt remains the only track star of this century whose fame cascades well beyond sports.
Eight years since his retirement, nobody has come close to matching his times or his presence. In an interview before Sunday night’s races at the track worlds, he said he feels great about that, because “that’s what I worked for.”
“When I was competing, I was working to break the benchmark,” he said. “Now that I’ve retired, it’s a great feeling to know that I’m the benchmark if you want to be the best, you want to be a legend. I wanted to set high standards and I did. I’m happy about that.”
The numbers tell part of this story: Eight Olympic gold medals. Eleven gold medals at world championships. Three world records — 9.58 seconds in the 100, 19.19 in the 200 and 36.84 in the 4x100 relay — that still stand.
No runner has come within .12 seconds of either of his individual marks since he retired.
Asked why that is, despite a world in which shoe and track technology gives runners a bigger boost than 15 years ago when he was in his prime, Bolt offered a window into why he remains his sport’s most engaging ambassador.
“Do you really want the answer? We’re just more talented,” he said. “You look at it. I’m just saying, you can’t run faster (just) with brand-new spikes.”
Speed, though, is only part of Bolt’s story. It was his ability to use the platform to entertain and bring people together — a skill that couldn’t be overlooked in an era when the Olympics needed a recharge — that made Bolt one of track’s most important characters.
From his trademark bow-and-arrow pose to his leisurely victory laps around the track with the reggae music blaring — from his mile-wide smile to the joy he so effortlessly exuded despite the excruciating nature of his work — he elevated the sport into a personality-driven lovefest and gave people a reason to watch.
“It’s the personality,” he said. “I think a lot of people, they try to be fun but it comes off different. It’s just having a good time. If you try too hard, it’s not going to be the same. But I was just having a good time. That’s how I looked at it. I tried to engage with fans and that’s why they gravitated to it.”
Sunday marked Bolt’s first appearance at an Olympics or worlds since he exited the sport after the 2017 championships in London.
He is now the father of a 5-year-old daughter, Olympia Lightning Bolt, and 4-year-old twin sons, Saint Leo and Thunder Bolt. To them, Bolt is just Dad. But the greatest sprinter of all time said their view might change at the next world championships — two years from now in the place where his career lifted off like a rocket: Beijing.
“I’m excited because I get to bring my kids and I can tell them, ‘Listen, this is where it all happened,’” he said of the 2008 Olympics where he set three world records and won three gold medals. “I’ve shown my kids videos and stuff like that. They’ll be 6 and 7, and they’ll kind of understand the moment, and I can explain to them what their dad has done over the years.”

Scottie Scheffler shot 5-under-par 67 and it was enough for a one-stroke victory in the Procore Championship on Sunday at Napa, California, proving to be a valuable tune-up for the Ryder Cup.
Scheffler finished the tournament at 19-under 269, with second- and third- round leader Ben Griffin posting 70 in the final round and ending up at 18 under on Silverado Resort’s North Course.
“I’m fortunate to be the winner this week,” Scheffler said.
Griffin missed a birdie putt from about 6 feet away on the final hole that would have forced a playoff.
“I gave myself a good chance,” Griffin said. “I was trying to make eagle, putt was just a little slower than I expected. I don’t know if I hit my line on the last, but I looked up and it looked like it was breaking pretty good to the left and I tried to play it straighter to right center.”
Griffin and Scheffler, who was in the pairing in front of Griffin, were even at 18 under until Scheffler’s bogey on No. 11. Scheffler had birdies on Nos. 12 and 15, while Griffin’s string of nine consecutive pars was broken with a bogey on the par-4 No. 14 and a birdie on the next hole, a par-5.
“I was chasing down some pretty talented guys on the leaderboard,” Scheffler said.

It marks Scheffler’s 19th victory on the tour, though his first in California. Six of those have come in 2025, so he joins Tiger Woods as the only givers with at least six victories in back-to-back seasons since 1983.
Griffin was trying to join Scheffler and Rory McIlroy as the only golfers with three or more PGA Tour victories in 2025. His 11 top-10 finishes this year are only behind Scheffler on that list.
Griffin birdied the first three holes to extend his lead, which was at one stroke over amateur Jackson Koivun entering the round.
“Anytime you finish second, it sucks, but I’m so grateful to be playing golf,” Griffin said. “So grateful to have opportunities down the stretch. I just need to execute a little bit better.”
Lanto Griffin’s 65 marked the best score of the day and it elevated him to third place. Koivun (71), a junior at Auburn, and Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo (66) tied for fourth place at 16 under.
J.J. Spaun (66), who like Scheffler and Ben Griffin is headed to the Ryder Cup later this month, was sixth at 15 under.
Lanto Griffin’s rise came courtesy of playing Sunday’s first eight holes in 6 under. After a bogey on No. 9, he chipped in front of the greenside rough for a birdie on the par-4 13th and also made birdie at No. 16.
“For whatever reason I hit some really close iron shots,” Lanto Griffin said. “That’s kind of one of those things, you’re 6 under through eight and you’re trying to just not even think about it.”
The outcome moved Lanto Griffin into the top 100 in the overall standings for the year.
“I feel really comfortable with what I’m working on in my swing that’s right, so getting a really good finish and being able to go home and get back to work on that is exciting,” he said.