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Thursday, Aug 9, 2012 10:48 PM UTC

Rogge: Usain Bolt not a ‘legend’ yet

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Topics: From the Wires

Rogge: Usain Bolt not a 'legend' yetin the equestrian show jumping individual competition, at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2012, in London. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)(Credit: Markus Schreiber)

LONDON (AP) — Usain Bolt, you’re not a “living legend” yet.

That’s the verdict of IOC President Jacques Rogge, who said Jamaican sprinter is an “icon,” but needs to prove his greatness over more than two Olympics before he can claim legendary status.

“The career of Usain Bolt has to be judged when the career stops,” Rogge told a small group of reporters Thursday. “If you look at the career of Carl Lewis, he had (four) consecutive games with a medal.”

Rogge spoke a few hours before Bolt completed an unprecedented sprint sweep, becoming the first athlete to win the 100 and 200 meters at consecutive Olympics. Bolt took the 200 in 19.32 seconds, four days after he defended his 100 title with victory in 9.63.

Bolt has spoken repeatedly of his desire to become a “living legend” in London.

“Let Usain Bolt be free of injury,” Rogge said. “Let him keep his motivation, which I think will be the case. … Let him participate in three, four games, and he can be a legend. Already, he’s an icon.”

Lewis won nine Olympic gold medals from 1984-1996, including four consecutive titles in the long jump.

In Beijing four years ago, Bolt won the 100, 200 and 4×100 relay, all in world-record times. Back then, Rogge chastised Bolt for showboating and showing a lack of respect to his fellow competitors after his individual races, comments which led to criticism of the IOC president for appearing to be out of touch.

Rogge said achieving Olympic success over a long period is crucial.

“What Michael Phelps has done in Beijing (eight gold medals) and what Usain Bolt has done now in the 100 meters and maybe in the 200 meters later this evening, this is something that you will not forget,” he said. “This is something exceptional. I think that achieving to win a medal in consecutive games is a great performance. The time factor is so important.”

Rogge cited British rower Steve Redgrave, who won gold medals at five consecutive Olympics, and British sailor Ben Ainslie, who won his fourth straight gold at these games.

“You have to be there, you have to be at the top for almost 20 years which is a great achievement,” he said.

Rogge, who competed in three Olympics for Belgium in sailing, said of Ainslie: “He’s now the greatest sailor of all time.”

Rogge spoke after attending the finals of women’s boxing, which made its debut on the Olympic program. He watched British flyweight Nicola Adams and Irish lightweight Katie Taylor win gold medals in front of a raucous crowd at the ExCel arena.

“It was fantastic,” Rogge said. ‘I’m a very happy man. There has been some criticism of whether women should be boxing and of their level and technique. Today we have been vindicated. That was a good decision. It’s only the beginning.”

Also attending was IOC vice president Nawal El Moutawakel of Morocco, the first woman from a predominantly Muslim nation to win an Olympic medal when she took gold in the 400-meter hurdles at the 1984 Los Angeles Games.

“The combat was beautiful,” she said. “It was a wonderful show. They were technical and highly skilled. This was very important, a huge step. It reminds me of my ’84 hurdles gold medal.”

For the first time in Olympic history, all national teams include female athletes. Rogge noted that Sarah Attar received a big ovation when she finished last in her 800-meter heat on Wednesday, the first woman from Saudi Arabia to compete in track and field at the Olympics.

“We’re fighting the right course,” Rogge said. “It’s a strong message that reverberates around the world. Young women will take up sport. These games will leave a great human legacy.”

With the closing ceremony of the three days away, Rogge hailed the British crowds and said the atmosphere reminded him of the street scenes during the 2010 Vancouver Games.

“The crowds exceed my expectations,” he said. “I did not expect such a response.”

Rogge said the fervor was due in part to the success of the British team, which had won 24 gold medals and 51 total medals by the end of Thursday’s competition, its best performance in 100 years.

“It took two days to get the bronze medal,” he said. “From that start, what an acceleration.”

Rogge also recalled standing near an “amused” Queen Elizabeth II during the opening ceremony as they watched a film clip featuring the monarch and James Bond actor Daniel Craig. With a bit of movie trickery, the queen appears to parachute out of a helicopter into the stadium.

‘I was watching on a video, and the queen was about 10 meters on my left side,” Rogge said. “She was watching the same video with a very amused smile on her lips. She knew everything of the plot. She was amused, if I may so.”

That was a play on the famous quotation attributed to Queen Victoria: “We are not amused.”

Stephen Wilson

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