Ahead of yesterday's Brussels Grand Prix, Bolt told reporters, "I'm getting to be a legend. I don't consider myself a legend yet." This is after gold-medal winning and world-record breaking performances at the Beijing Olympics and World Championships in Berlin within a year. That is the stuff storytellers would not dare to dream up.

Still, the 23-year-old, with the world and all comers literally at his feet, said in a story published on The Gleaner's website yesterday, "I think after the next Olympics and other World Championships, if I do extremely well in those, I'll consider myself a legend. I want to be a legend, I want to make sure I get my M3 (BMW car) and all those other fast cars."

We can put his motive for wanting to be a legend down to youthful fascination with speed and shiny things. After all, it has served him well with world records, medals and trophies but we cannot fault his foresight. The London Olympics are three years away, a virtual lifetime for someone in his early 20s.

Commend Bolt

In a world of the now, where time is measured at the speed of a broadband Internet connection, we must commend Bolt and his management team on their measured approach to success, even as we look forward to one day being able to certify Bolt a legend.

That, however, means there must be a level of consistency and a demonstration of longevity, such as persons like Brian Lara and Vivian Richards in cricket, Edwin Moses and Jesse Owens in track and field and Muhammad Ali in boxing.

Importantly, there has to be a sense of fortitude, a realisation that this person has not only been gifted beyond measure in his or her field but can also overcome adversity.

Frankly, we have not yet seen that in Bolt, as we are seeing glimpses of it in Asafa Powell (who has declared that he is ready to go after Bolt). Yes, he performed below expectations in his first Olympics, that image of an uncoordinated teenager clutching a chain in his mouth having been happily erased from the public's consciousness. But we have not seen him having to stave off the challenge of a younger, fresher, just-as-talented opponent. Nor have we seen Bolt have to deal with severe physical setbacks and, frankly, hope we don't.

So, while Bolt concurs with us that he is off to a flying start in this matter of being declared a legend, happily we are on the same wavelength where having earned the right to the term is concerned. For if Bolt were to fade away now, he would be deemed a flash in the pan, an unsustainable freak of nature.

We, of course, do not believe that he is. And, happily, his attitude indicates he will not end up in that sorry position.

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