It’s hard to believe Usain Bolt only started competing in the 100 metres one year prior to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
At 6ft 5in, Bolt was told he was too tall to be a successful sprinter and was instead encouraged to race across 200m and 400m. Can you imagine if he'd listened?
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While the Jamaican showed talent across these distances, the young star was desperate to give the 100m a go, despite the advice he was given.
After a disappointing showing at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, where Bolt was hampered by injury and didn’t make it out of the 200m heats, he made a deal with his coaches.
Bolt would race across 100m during a minor athletics event in Greece in July 2007. If he could run faster than 10.30 seconds, he would be able to drop the 400m and focus on shorter distances.
Bolt smashed his target time, winning the race in 10.03.
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It was decided. Bolt would be able to race across 100m, but there was just 12 months to go until the Olympic Games in Beijing.
Despite the short build-up, Bolt produced one of the most astonishing performances in the history of track and field - and he was just getting started.
Preparing for Beijing 2008
Bolt started putting in the work for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games immediately, hitting the weights to increase his explosiveness and power.
He finished with 200m and 4x100m silver medals at the World Athletics Championships in August 2007, before starting to show real improvements in the 100m at the start of 2008.
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He went under 10 seconds for the first time in May 2008, then breaking the world record in stunning fashion just a month later. His time of 9.72 seconds surpassed Asafa Powell’s effort the year prior.
Astonishingly, Bolt’s world record came on just his fifth attempt at racing over 100m at a senior level. Just a year after starting to take the 100m seriously, Bolt was now the heavy favourite to take the gold medal at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
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Celebrating early
As one of the most highly-anticipated events at the Olympics, all eyes were on the men’s 100m final on August 16, 2008. Everyone watching was about to witness one of the most iconic races in the history of the Games.
Bolt trailed slightly behind his competitors as the race got underway, but he had surged ahead by the 50-metre mark.
After gaining a comfortable lead, he took a quick glance around him and started celebrating about 15 metres before crossing the line.
He set a new world record of 9.69 seconds, but it’s thought he could have ran even faster if he had not slowed down to celebrate.
Upon closer inspection, it was realised that Bolt had pulled off his stunning run with his shoelaces untied. It became clear his raw speed and power could not be hindered by anything.
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Some criticised Bolt for his early celebration and apparent nonchalant attitude towards the race, but the Jamaican star insisted he was just delighted with his performance.
"I wasn't bragging,” Bolt said at the time. “When I saw I wasn't covered, I was just happy.”
Completing historic treble (before it was taken away)
Four days after his triumph in the 100 metres, Bolt was back on the track for the 200m final.
He delivered another sensational performance, starting powerfully and establishing a clear lead as he came around the bend.
Despite being even further ahead of his opponents then during the 100m, this time Bolt did not stop to celebrate and crossed the finish line in 19.30 seconds.
This broke Michael Johnson's long-standing world record of 19.32 seconds, set at the Atlanta 1996 Olympics.
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Bolt became the first athlete in history to break 100m and 200m world records at the same Games.
But Bolt's remarkable performance in Beijing did not end with his individual events.
On August 22, 2008, he ran the third leg for Jamaica in the 4x100m relay. Teaming up with Nesta Carter, Michael Frater and Asafa Powell, the Jamaican team was always the favourite to win, but the extent of their dominance was breathtaking.
Bolt took the baton with a slight lead and extended it significantly before handing off to Powell, who anchored the team to victory.
The Jamaican quartet finished in 37.10 seconds, a new world record.
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This victory marked the culmination of Bolt's incredible Olympic journey in Beijing, as he became the first sprinter since Carl Lewis in 1984 to win gold medals in the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relay at a single Games.
However, the feat was stripped from Bolt and his Jamaican teammates in 2017, when Carter's urine sample from the Beijing Games was re-tested and found to contain traces of a banned substance.
It meant Bolt can no longer call himself a 'triple-treble' winner, having also won three golds at London 2012 and Rio 2016.
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And while their 4x100m world-record was also expunged, the Jamaica team surpassed that time in London four years later anyway - a time of 36.84 that still stands today.
Despite losing one of his golds, there is no doubt of Bolt's status as the greatest sprinter, with his performances in Beijing going down in Olympics history as one of the most breathtaking Games from an athlete.