While world's fastest man, Usain Bolt was unable to break his own records in the 100 meter and 200 meter sprints, he won gold in both events and certainly let the world know (any time a microphone was thrust upon him) that, "I came to London to become a legend and now I am a legend."
compared to other legends, he would prefer to be in the
same company as Jesse Owens, rather than Carl Lewis.
Since Jesse Owens' famous dash at the 1936 Berlin
Games, presided over by Adolf Hitler, the world record
in the 100 meter sprint has been steadily improved upon
by a superior class of athletes, or so we've been led to
believe.
Just how many fractions of a second shaved off of the
world record can be attributed to the athlete and how
many attributed to technology is really a matter of debate.
Owens' time of 10.2 was a world record in 1936. Of course, it may have been 10.14 for all we know because back then, there were no reliable methods for measuring hundredths of a second.
Since Owens' mark of 10.2, subsequent records have been beaten or equaled no fewer than 60 times.
While Jesse Owens' shoes would have been state-of-the-art in 1936, they'd certainly be considered clunky and heavy compared to the 100 gram marvels that athletes wear today.
While Hitler spared no expense on Germany's Olympiastadion, the tracks of the day were dirt. Starting blocks? Nope. The athletes used small spades to dig footings in the dirt. The sophisticated track designed for the London Games meanwhile gave runners a distinct advantage because less energy was lost with each stride. Are tracks being designed to keep up with better athletes or are track designs creating better athletes?
Organizers also carefully prevent sprinters from running into a head wind at their events. After all, every city that has hosted the Olympic Games wants to be known as the city where [insert world class athlete here] set the world record. Of the 60 or so times that the world record in the 100 meter sprint has been equaled or bettered since Jesse Owens' day, only 5 times has the phenomenon occurred with a head wind and since 1977, there has never been a head wind. Something less than random is going on here. It makes one wonder when sprinters will be permitted to run downhill to better ensure that a record will fall.
There is no question that Usain Bolt has earned the title of World's Fastest Man. To say that no sprinter from the past could ever equal Bolt's mark, however, is folly simply because what's at Bolt's disposal was not available to his idols.
