India, Sept. 26 -- As the emcee inside the auditorium of a popular Mumbai school announced that the guest of honour had entered the premises, the students, seated in hundreds with unabated excitement, let out a collective gasp. The select few invited guests, which included celebrated Bollywood personalities and decorated chefs, took out their phones to capture the arrival.

About an hour later at the school's ground across the road, the guest of honour took out his own phone to capture the girls' 100m race of the 5th-6th graders.

That guest of honour remains a sporting superstar around the globe. That guest of honour remains a track and field romantic years into retirement. That guest of honour, as the victorious girl mimicking his signa...