What you see on TV of Usain Bolt is what you get.
So said one the champion's fellow Jamaican team members, as she watched Bolt signing autographs and photos for the sea of fans that surrounded him.
Bolt, who turned 22 on Thursday, looked relaxed, confident and amenable to their adoration.
There was no trace of arrogance or conceit on the face of this holder of two world records.
Jamaica's Usain Bolt (L) celebrates next to teammate Asafa Powell after they won the men's 4?00m Relay final at the National Stadium during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games on August 22, 2008. [Agencies]
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But Bolt received a ticking off on Thursday from IOC chief Jacques Rogge owing to the lack of respect he showed to fellow competitors after his record-breaking gold-medal performances in the 100 and 200 m.
At the near-solo finish of the 100-m final, Bolt slowed down, stretched out his arms and pounded his chest before crossing the finish line in a world-record 9.69 seconds.
"That's not what the way we perceive being a champion," Rogge said. "I have no problem with showmanship, but I think he should show more respect for his competitors by shaking hands and tapping them on the shoulder."
But to this fun-loving laid-back college student, it was an honest expression of his feelings. "There are no words to explain how I feel," he said. "It is such a great thing to have my name on the record.
Bolt's 19.30-second run on Wednesday night broke Michael Johnson's world record, making him the eighth man in Olympic history to score a 100/200 m double and the first simultaneously to make two new world records.
Beijing's National Stadium track is a special place for him, Bolt said. "The tracks in Beijing are first rate. I'll be back to run them again in the future."
It seems certain that this young, fast and fearless runner will break more records.
"It's possible. Anything is possible," he said.
A stray fan approached the champ, asking him to sign a hat. He took the pen and wrote carefully: Usain Bolt. No 1 100m and 200m. Beijing 2008.
As he entered the elevator with his team mates, one of them said: "Beijing has brought us good luck. Let's see if London can do any better."
