Usain Bolt is the fastest man ever, and there’s no doubt about it

Usain Bolt remains the fastest man on the planet. The Jamaican sprinter defended his title in the 100-meter dash Olympic final on Sunday, winning with a time of 9.81 seconds to defeat Justin Gatlin once again.

The victory secured Bolt’s seventh gold medal and third straight 100-meter victory at the Olympic Games. He hasn’t tasted defeat in the event at a world championship or Olympic competition since 2008 -- unless you count his false-start disqualification in the 100 meters at the 2011 world championships. He’s now 18-0 in those races.

For Bolt, it’s another line item on a resume that reads as the world’s greatest sprinter. He’s put the rest of the running world on blast since winning a pair of silver medals for Jamaica in 2007 World Championships. He was best known for his prowess in the 200m event at the time, but an unforgettable showing at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 cemented his status as a versatile and dangerous sprinter.

Bolt set a new 100m world record in the weeks leading up to the 2008 Games, then broke it with a 9.69-second time -- a time that could have been even faster if he hadn’t slowed down to celebrate in the final 30 meters -- to claim his first Olympic gold medal. He followed that up with another world record, breaking through the finish line in the 200m at a blistering 19.30 seconds to break Michael Johnson’s seemingly unbeatable world record of 19.32. One day later, he finished off a triple crown performance by running the third leg for Jamaica’s victorious 4x100m relay team.

It was more of the same four years later in London. Bolt set an Olympic record to defend his 100m crown in 9.63s, then fended off all challengers in the 200m and 4x100m relay to push his medal count to six in four years. No other sprinter in modern Games history has won more. Now, he sits just two more titles away from tying the United States’ Carl Lewis and Finland’s Paavo Nurmi for most track and field gold medals in Olympic history.