UPDATE, Aug. 14, 2016: Usain Bolt of Jamaica took first place in the men’s 100 meter race Sunday night, August 15, in Rio, clocking in at 9.81 seconds to retain his moniker of “fastest man in the world.” He became the only sprinter ever to win the 100 meter in three different Olympics. He’s also favored for a third straight gold medal at 200 meters and is the most critical member of Jamaica’s 4 x 100-meter relay team.

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If there’s ever a time to be patriotic, it’s the Olympics. As long as an American is competing — you almost don’t need to know anything about the athlete or even the sport.

Usain Bolt, the fastest human being in the world, is not American. He’s Jamaican. But he has the passion for being the best, the unstoppable willpower, the tireless drive every American can appreciate.

Related: Simone Biles: A Gold Medal, Humility and Sportsmanship

Pushing 30, Bolt is several years older than the average world-class sprinter, but he has been as dominant as ever leading into the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. The jocular, fiery speedster begins his quest for three more gold medals (he already has six).

Track athletes might not be as familiar to sports fans in America, where major team sports such as football, baseball, and basketball rule the day. But Bolt is recognized worldwide, thanks to his accomplishments and a colorful disposition reminiscent at times of the legendary boxer Muhammad Ali.

As the Associated Press noted in 2012: “Almost single-handedly, Bolt has helped track transform itself from a dying sport to one with a singular, smiling, worldwide star.”

Bolt’s known to be as exciting off the track as he is on it. He’s called himself “the greatest athlete to live.” This week in Rio, he showed off some moves alongside a group of Brazilian salsa dancers. CNN called him “the ultimate showman.” Speaking of shows, his favorite TV program is, believe it or not, “The Big Bang Theory.”

“As any sports star, you have to continue winning, and as this is going to be my last Olympics,” he told ESPN in July, “unless … I think I definitely have to win to prove to the world that I am the best throughout the whole of my career.”

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Some fast facts on Bolt:

  • He won three gold medals in the 2008 Olympics and three more in 2012. In each, he won the 100-meter dash, the 200-meter dash, and (with three teammates) the 4×100-meter relay. He’s hoping to do the same this year in Rio, where the first round of 100-meter heats begins today.
  • He’s also the reigning champion in those three events in the World Championships in Athletics and the most successful athlete in the history of that event. Bolt plans to retire after the 2017 World Championships in London.
  • The 6-foot-5, 207-pound sprinter is just over a week away from his 30th birthday. He’ll blow out the candles on August 21, just two days after he wraps up Olympic competition.

You might be thinking: That’s great, but we have some pretty fast people in America too, right?

In fact, we have one of the fastest, Brooklyn-born Justin Gatlin, who won the 100-meter dash at the 2004 Olympics. He’s long been considered one of Bolt’s chief rivals, and he hopes to spoil Bolt’s hopes for an unprecedented “triple triple” in Rio.

The average age for a 100-meter gold medalist in the modern Olympics is 23. Bolt is on the cusp of 30. Gatlin turned 34 back in February, making him more than 4½ years older than his Jamaican nemesis.

All of which makes for a great story, but it’s one of those modern-era sports stories, like so many these days, that comes with an asterisk.

Related: Olympic Arrogance v. Olympic Humility

Doping has formed a cloud over all sorts of sports. And the use of performance-enhancing drugs has been a particularly huge scandal in this year’s Olympics, with widespread abuses by Russian athletes leading the headlines.

Gatlin has twice been banned from competition, in 2001 and 2006, due to anti-doping rulings. Although some critics contend anyone with a proven doping history should be ineligible to compete in major competitions such as the Olympics, Gatlin’s last suspension ended in 2010, so he’s eligible to compete. Bolt, on the other hand, has never tested positive for a banned substance.

That said, Bolt and Gatlin are friends, and if Bolt’s biggest rival had been banned from participating in Rio, it could take some luster off even an achievement as great as winning three more gold medals.

As it stands, two of the fastest men in the world will face off against each other and a variety of younger sprinters, and the world will be watching every step.