00:00:00:00
Bang!” went the pistol. At that instant, Justin’s vision was blurred. He hurled himself off the ground with his mammoth legs, packing enough thrust that he could have moved almost 260 kg. He moved his toned arms rhythmically to balance himself. So powerful was the thrust that blood rushed to his head. His lungs contracted, and he took short, controlled gasps of air.
00:00:01:14
By this time, Justin had covered 11 meters. The rush of adrenaline mounted within him. By now, he recovered from the thrust, and his sight became clearer. He had literally flown with the drag effect resulting from the initial thrust. He felt light and near weightlessness for the first instant, managing to touch the ground nearly 5 times on foot.
00:00:02:42
23 meters covered, and Justin felt the drag reduce. His eyes were red with the rush of blood to his head. He felt his eyes ready to pop out of their cavities. The pain was unbearable. His heart kept pumping blood, but not enough was returning back. Involuntarily, he started breathing faster, his diaphragm moving up and down in ascending motion. This action pressed against his lungs and heart. It massaged his heart and gradually the inflow of blood increased. And Justin felt the pain ebb away.
00:00:03:40
Exactly 98 milliseconds later, Justin ran 35 meters. At this speed, he felt the air howl past him. But through the rush of cold air, he could hear heavy breathing. It was not his. He could hear someone pounding the tracks not far behind him. He was not done, yet, he said to himself. He lowered his posture a little to cut the drag. The new material in his racing suit was like the land version of the swimmer’s ‘shark suit’. The air resistance was unlike he had felt before. The airflow enveloped his body suit resulting in lesser resistance to the air. And with glee, he picked up speed. The rhythmic throbbing of his heart seemed to give him new energy.
00:00:04:32
47 meters covered, and a new problem was unfurling. His legs numbed. His arms stiffened. He strained to move his arms to and fro. But he saw the crowd whizzing past. The floodlights were glaring. The lights seemed to navigate him down the rubber tracks. It was an exhilarating experience for Justin. He captured the moment through the corner of his eye. But the thuds and huffing behind him cut everything off. They were getting louder, clearer and dangerously, closer. Instincts told Justin that something was terribly wrong. And through the mounting pressure, he tried to focus on the sprint.
00:00:05:67
Tim had crossed 60 meters, and he managed to get a glimpse of his competitor. Through the corner of his eye he could make out the navy blue and white spandex and the glistening stud on his ear. It was Olusoji Fasuban, and he was gaining on Justin. And to make matters worse, Olusoji seemed energized. He was closing on Justin with relative ease. The effort was going to be hard. For both men, that is.
00:00:06:52
28 meters to go, and both Justin and Olusoji were neck to neck. Justin’s heart pounded heavily, and he had a bout of breathlessness. But through his setbacks he stayed focused. He never took his eyes off the strip of white at the finish line. To make matters worse, trouble was getting the better of him. He tried to fight away the numbness in his leg. Justin tried to synchronize his running rhythm. But to his dismay, when he looked forward, Olusoji was getting away. And then, for a moment, he lost hope.
00:00:07:89
81 meters over, and Justin was 3cms away from Olusoji. It seemed a small distance to the on looking spectators. But Justin and Olusoji knew that a hundredth a second could make or break a race. Justin knew that it was not going to be easy. He was already having problems with his leg. He tried his best to control his breathing. And to his luck, his heart pumped oxy-rich blood into his system. With newfound energy, he surged ahead. And for the first time, he knew that he had a chance in this competition.
00:00:08:96
8 meters to go and Justin blazed across the tracks through the chilly air. At this speed, he felt the cold sweat fly off his face. He closed in on Olusoji, and both men knew that they were straining themselves. Justin’s abdomen was taut with his legs moving as quickly as possible. The throbbing of his heart made his chest hurt as if pounded by sledgehammers. It was a tiresome sprint, but he had faith in himself. And the finish line seemed closer than expected. He could do it, he told himself. He held his breath. And propelled himself forward with a gigantic leap.
00:00:09:76
81 milliseconds later, Justin felt something wrap itself across his chest as he ran. Gradually he slowed down, and covered his perspiring face with sweaty calloused hands. Through the intense pressure, tears and sweat rolled down his face. They were tears of joy.
Then with one hand, he held the winners banner that wrapped itself around him and ran the victor’s lap, acknowledging the spectator’s cheers. At the end, Olusoji came up and congratulated Justin for winning. Then Justin turned to look at the LCD screen clocking the time that he covered. He was shocked.
And to this day, he is the world record holder in the 100 meters men’s race at 9.76 seconds
