Claim: Usain Bolt is a sprinter.

Usain St Leo Bolt , OJ , CD -LRB- -LSB- ˈjuːseɪn -RSB- born 21 August 1986 -RRB- is a Jamaican sprinter . He is the first person to hold both the 100 metres and 200 metres world records since fully automatic time became mandatory . He also holds the world record as a part of the 4 × 100 metres relay . He is the reigning world and Olympic champion in these three events . Due to his unprecedented dominance and achievements in sprint competition , he is widely considered to be the greatest sprinter of all time .   An eight-time Olympic gold medalist , Bolt won the 100 m , 200 m and 4 × 100 m relay at three consecutive Olympic Games , although he subsequently lost one of the gold medals -LRB- as well as the world record set therein -RRB- nine years after the fact due to teammate Nesta Carter 's disqualification for doping offences . He gained worldwide popularity for his double sprint victory at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in world record times . Bolt is the only sprinter to win Olympic 100 m and 200 m titles at three consecutive olympics -LRB- 2008 , 2012 and 2016 -RRB- , a feat referred to as the `` triple double . ''   An eleven-time World Champion , he won consecutive World Championship 100 m , 200 m and 4 × 100 metres relay gold medals from 2009 to 2015 , with the exception of a 100 m false start in 2011 . He is the most successful athlete of the World Championships and was the first athlete to win three titles in both the 100 m and 200 m at the competition .   Bolt improved upon his first 100 m world record of 9.69 with 9.58 seconds in 2009 -- the biggest improvement since the start of electronic timing . He has twice broken the 200 metres world record , setting 19.30 in 2008 and 19.19 in 2009 . He has helped Jamaica to three 4 × 100 metres relay world records , with the current record being 36.84 seconds set in 2012 . Bolt 's most successful event is the 200 m , with three Olympic and four World titles . The 2008 Olympics was his international debut over 100 m ; he had earlier won numerous 200 m medals -LRB- including 2007 World Championship silver -RRB- and holds the world under-20 and world under-18 records for the event .   His achievements as a sprinter have earned him the media nickname `` Lightning Bolt '' , and his awards include the IAAF World Athlete of the Year , Track & Field Athlete of the Year , and Laureus World Sportsman of the Year -LRB- four times -RRB- . Bolt has stated that he intends to retire from athletics after the 2017 World Championships .