Usain Bolt rewrote record books on this day in Olympic history in 2008

Aug. 16, 2008

When Usain Bolt crossed the finish line in the 100-meter dash, his nearest opponent two steps behind, the Jamaican sprinter reset history.

Bolt’s 9.69-second finish lowered his previous world-record time by .03 seconds and shattered the Olympic record set in 1996 by .15 seconds.

With the win already in hand, Bolt began his celebration with about 10 meters to go, raising his arms out before pounding his chest with his right hand as he crossed the finish line for the sure-fire gold medal.

Bolt also broke world records in the 200-meter dash (19.30 seconds) and helped reset the record for the 400 meter dash (37.10 seconds) during the 2008 Games in Beijing.

This story was originally published August 15, 2016 at 12:18 PM with the headline "Usain Bolt rewrote record books on this day in Olympic history in 2008."