Bolt and Phelps take centre stage

Lightning doesn't strike twice, there goes the saying, but, it seems apparent that these words were uttered before anyone saw Usain "Lightning" Bolt. The Jamaican stunned the world by shattering the record and left his rivals way behind, quite literally.

He even humiliated the other competitors by slowing down a bit in the last part of the sprints and still managed to cross the finish line in record time. His phenomenal success at the Olympic Games in Beijing raised a few drug suspicions, but the Jamaican managed to stay clean, leaving his doubters in awe.

As a 15-year-old, the Jamaican, in front of the home crowd, became the youngest 200-metre world junior gold medallist ever. The year 2005 signalled a fresh start for Bolt in the form of a new coach, Glen Mills, and a new attitude to athletics.

Initially, running only in the 200 and 400 metres, Bolt forced his coach to allow him to take part in the 100-metre sprints and the rest is history. In Beijing, he emulated legendary Carl Lewis by winning three sprinting events at a single Olympics — 100, 200 and 4x100 metres relay — and became the first man to set world records in all three at a single Olympics.

If Bolt was striking golds in track and field, it was Michael Phelps who set the pool ablaze by sweeping eight gold medals. The American has won 14 career Olympic gold medals, the most by any Olympian.

At the Beijing Games, Phelps surpassed Mark Spitz's record of seven gold medals by winning in eight events — 400 metres individual medley, 4x400 relay, 200 freestyle, 200 butterfly, 4x200 freestyle relay, 200 individual medley, 100 butterfly and 4x100 medley relay. He also set seven world records and one Olympic record in the process.