TOKYO — On the night track turned to Jamaica once again to find the World’s Fastest Man, the greatest Jamaican sprinter was in a sky box in the stadium — his presence literally hovering over a sport that hasn’t been the same since he left.Oblique Seville might be the new 100-meter world champion. Usain Bolt remains the only track star of this century whose fame cascades well beyond sports. Eight years since his retirement, nobody has come close to matching his times or his presence. In an interview before Sunday night’s races at the track worlds, he said he feels great about that, because “that’s what I worked for.”“When I was competing, I was working to break the benchmark,” he said. “Now that I’ve retired, it’s a great feeling to know that I’m the benchmark if you want to be the best, you want to be a legend. I wanted to set high standards and I did. I’m happy about that.”The numbers tell part of this story: Eight Olympic gold medals. Eleven gold medals at world championships. Three world records — 9.58 seconds in the 100, 19.19 in the 200 and 36.84 in the 4×100 relay — that still stand. No runner has come within .12 seconds of either of his individual marks since he retired. Asked why that is, despite a world in which shoe and track technology gives runners a bigger boost than 15 years ago when he was in his prime, Bolt offered a window into why he remains his sport’s most engaging ambassador.“Do you really want the answer? We’re just more talented,” he said. “You look at it. I’m just saying, you can’t run faster (just) with brand-new spikes.”Speed, …
