Usain Bolt is an Olympic sprinter.
Usain St Leo Bolt , OJ , CD ( [ ˈjuːseɪn ] born 21 August 1986 ) is a Jamaican sprinter . 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 ( as well as the world record set therein ) 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 .