I just heard an interesting clip on CNBC today. The commentator suggested that Bolt may not have wanted to make his time too fast because of the way bonuses are paid. Apparently, most of the athletes with contracts from people like Puma, Nike, etc. have a clause in those contacts that says they get paid a bonus each time they break a world record.

I finally found the link to the story. Here it is.
[www.cnbc.com]

So, the conspiracy theory goes, that Bolt knew before the race that he had to win the race and take the gold, but not push it too much, otherwise he'd kill his opportunity at future bonuses.

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Roswell, GA (Atlanta suburb)

Gotta pay the bills.

So he held up to break the world record by only 0.03 seconds instead of perhaps 0.13?
How did he know?

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will2000
So he held up to break the world record by only 0.03 seconds instead of perhaps 0.13?
How did he know?

He just needs to know that he can go faster next time. kj.

<<"I'd like to tell you that I've confirmed the rumor that's been floating around here, but unfortunately I cannot. Since most of the world doesn't know about this rumor, it's at least worth telling.
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Wasn't there a Soviet weightlifter that used this scheme of adding just enough weight to the bar to get "bonuses" ?

Yes. Back in the 70's the great weightlifter Vasily Alexiev was notorious for doing just that.

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rgG
I just heard an interesting clip on CNBC today. The commentator suggested that Bolt may not have wanted to make his time too fast because of the way bonuses are paid. Apparently, most of the athletes with contracts from people like Puma, Nike, etc. have a clause in those contacts that says they get paid a bonus each time they break a world record.

Armchair "genius" BS. He would have had to know exactly when he broke the record to know that he should slow down so as to hold something back. He could try and do something like that, but he'd have better luck if he bought a lottery ticket. He was just showboating.

Now posing for photos in front of the time clock holding up one of his shoes? ka-ching!