Carl Lewis had set the standards for track and field events during his illustrious career that spanned across three decades. The American legend won five 100m world titles, which includes two Olympic golds.
Then came Usain Bolt, who went on to become one of the most celebrated sporting figures in athletics history. The Jamaican sprint legend finished with a bronze in his final 100m race at the London World Championships on Saturday, August 5, but he has already done enough to be regarded as the Greatest of All Time.
With three Olympic and World doubles, Bolt has been the undisputed king of sprint ever since he claimed glory at Beijing in 2008. With the 30-year-old bidding goodbye to the race, it will be interesting to see who can dominate the event in the post-Bolt era.
Justin Gatlin did win the 100m race by coming up with a superlative performance amidst boos from the London crowd on Saturday, August 5. The American sprinter, who had been banned twice on either side of 2004 Athens Olympic gold, had tested Bolt in the past as well, but he is 34 already and is clearly not the man for future.
The International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) is badly in need of a new icon for the world's most-followed track event. And with Bolt himself revealing he is excited to see who will dominate the sprint events in Tokyo, there is a lot being said about the next sprint star.
IBTimes India compiles a list of five athletes, who can set the track on fire in the coming years.
Andre De Grasse
De Grasse was considered Bolt's biggest rival for 100m Gold at London meet. However, the Canadian was forced to pull out with a hamstring injury.
The 22-year-old though still has time to make up for the lost chance. In the ongoing season, he has been making headlines with his performances in the 100m events.
De Grasse set the fastest timing, albeit a wind-assisted one of 9.69s in Stockholm in June and had remained undefeated in his last four Diamond League meets.
The Canadian came to limelight even since he pushed Bolt to the limits in their 200m semi-final at Olympic Games last year before winning a silver in the final and a Bronze in the 100m in Rio de Janeiro.
Christian Coleman
Coleman was looking set to win the 100m race on Saturday as he was leading the pack until Gatlin switched gears in the last 15m. Notably, the 21-year-old pushed Bolt to the second sport in their semi-final yesterday.
It was exciting to see Coleman rising up to the big occasion in his very first world meet. With a timing of 9.94s he took the Silver, making it a 1-2 finish for the United States.
Coleman headed into the world meet, having registered the fastest season best of 9.82s. He clocked four sub 10s timings as well and added two more to his tally in London. Notably, no other athlete has gone below 9.9s without wind assistance in 2017.
Akani Simbine
This 23-year-old from South Africa has proven to be a giant-slayer in the recent past. After finishing fifth with a timing of 9.94s at 2016 Rio Olympics, Simbine impressed even more when he won the Diamond League in Doha earlier this year.
Simbine headed into the world meet with a lot of confidence after he clocked the season's third best timing -- 9.92s at Pretoria in March.
On Saturday, he clocked 10.01s as he managed another fifth place finish behind Gatlin, Coleman, Bolt and Yohan Blake.
The young South African has showed he is ready for the fight against big names and has also revealed he is ready to take Bolt's spot in the coming years.
Jimmy Vicaut
Vicaut finished sixth with a timing of 10.08s in the 100m race on Saturday, which is yet another indication of the French sprint star's rise in the recent past.
After setting a personal best of 9.86s as early as in 2015, which still remains the fastest timing for a European athlete, Vicaut has had a slow but steady progress. The 25-year-old, who finished eighth at the last edition of World Championships in Beijing, impressed at the Rio Games with a seventh place finish.
