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Bolt Too Bold?

Mr. Bolt is now one of the great, and most thrilling, Olympians - so it seems odd that the Olympics boss has chastised him for being too showy on the track. A bit like, yes, trying to keep lightning in a bottle, or accusing Mozart of using too many notes. While the world cheered, apparently, this dour pencil-pusher fumed. Anyway, given the overblown spectacle of the Olympics opening ceremonies, it seems like a Kubrick "war room" paradox to ask the great Jamaican sprinter to slow his antics down to a mediocre pace. So long as he respects the other competitors, he should be allowed to strut his stuff after crossing the finishing line - I suppose what galls the official is that Bolt is the first man in history to actually celebrate while competing, and still win.
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Anonymous said…
Good for Bolt, and so much for the po-faced Belgian knight. But what's interesting about Bolt's dance is the intimate association of sport and music in Jamaican popular culture in a way that just doesn't happen in the UK. Nuh Linger is currently #1 in the JA charts. Have any UK athletes been celebrating their swimming and cycling victories by dancing to, er, Katy Perry?
Fri Aug 22, 11:27:00 am 2008
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