9.59?

For me, the glamour event of the Summer Olympics is the men’s 100 meter final.

It is short and pure. The winner is the fastest human being on the planet.

This year’s gold medalist is Usain Bolt of Jamaica.

He’s taller than all other sprinters — 6’5”.

He’s also faster. Much faster. And he is now the fastest man on earth.

Bolt blazed the distance in just 9.68 seconds, later rounded up to 9.69.

That’s 0.03 seconds below his own world record. That’s incredible for an event where reductions of 0.01 second are significant.

What’s even more mind-boggling is that Bolt got off to a slow start (which is often unavoidable in sprinting). And his left shoelace wasn’t completely tied (which seems preventable).

But here’s the kicker: He eased up the last 10 meters when it was clear that no one was going to catch him — at least no one who wasn’t riding a rocket.

If Bolt had run through the tape instead of coasting, he might have posted a time of 9.59. That's a number human beings were not thought to be capable of posting.

Maybe Bolt thought he wasn’t going to set a world record and was just happy to grab the gold. And if he runs a 9.59 later, well, then it didn’t matter so much.

But in the mega-event of track and field, the race that is run only once every four years, you shouldn’t hot-dog it. You owe it to your sport and your fans to run your best time.

If it’s possible to tarnish a gold medal for a time that fast, Usain Bolt did it.