Today on Twitter

Friday, 10 August 2012

“I am now a living legend that’s for sure.”

Who could argue with that Tweet? Very few people. More than 10,000 chose to retweet or favourite it, making it the most popular tweet that @UsainBolt sent in the aftermath of his greatest hour last night.

The Times were quick to celebrate his victory with this amazing shot on their cover:

As well as cementing his status as the greatest sprinter of all time, he also set a new Twitter Olympics record with over 80,000 tweets per minute for his victory in the 200m:

And it was Twitter the man himself turned to last night. With the sweat barely dry on the brow of the man who had just become the first in history to claim 100m and 200m gold in successive Olympics, he fired off a series of thoughts to more than one million followers. He thanked his fans:

His coach:

His parents:

His country:

His team-mates:

And God:

Here’s a great snapshot of the Jamaican trio storming to victory:

Seeing the inner thoughts of the greatest athlete in the world shortly after his finest hour was a fascinating experience unique to Twitter. Usain also responded to the two biggest stars from his favourite football team, Manchester United, thanking them for these tweets:

@TeamGB has scooped 25 gold medals in London 2012 so far. But did you know, there have been 9.86 million mentions of the word ‘gold’ on Twitter since the launch of the Games?

Away from the track, it was female boxers @NicolaAdams2012 and Ireland’s Katie Taylor who fought to victory in the ring last night. Gold medalist Nicola Adams tweeted this fab picture this morning with @DizzeeRascal:

And Team GB Taekwondo gold medalist Jade Jones (@jadejonestkd) had this message for her Twitter followers after her victory last night:

There are still few days left of the Games, and at @TwitterUK we’re excited about Tom Daley and Mo Farah going for gold tomorrow. Be sure to cheer them on - @TomDaley1994 and @Mo_Farah. Plus, boxing hopes Anthony Ogogo (@AnthonyOgogo) and Anthony Joshua (@anthonyfjoshua) will be taking to the ring. Follow them on Twitter to get close than ever to the action.