Bom dia: Missing Bolt, but not the spectacle — DeCock

The plan was to make the long trek out to the Olympic Stadium – which is, this being Rio, nowhere near the Olympic Park or any other venue – to see Usain Bolt last night. That was the plan.

After what should have been a 10-minute bus ride each way for a quick interview turned into a 90-minute trip followed by a 30-minute walk back, there was no time to get to the Olympic Stadium, even if I'd still had the energy at that point.

Instead, I watched Bolt on a big screen at a restaurant in Copacabana, and it was an entirely different kind of spectacle.

As the 100-meter final approached, the TV was turned from Brazilian volleyball – every TV in Brazil is turned to whatever event the Brazilians are in at the moment, no matter what else is going on, unless it's Bolt running – to Bolt and every chair in the restaurant turned toward it. Taxi drivers wandered up to watch. Two dozen people walking along the beach stopped and formed a clot at the entrance to the restaurant.

For 10 seconds, Copacabana's buzz was silenced and activity came to a halt.

As the race began, there was silence, but as Bolt pulled ahead of Justin Gatlin, the restaurant erupted in a roar, followed by wild cheering as Bolt won.

It wasn't the same as being at the stadium, but it might have been just as memorable.

This story was originally published August 15, 2016 at 8:57 AM.