OLYMPIC GAMES | ATHLETICS
Usain Bolt concerned about his 200m world record at 2024 Olympics in Paris
The fastest man of all time speaks to AS with the world’s attention focused on who could take his records.
No one has been faster in the world than Usain Saint Leo Bolt, who still holds the world records for the 100 meters (9.58 seconds) and 200 meters (19.19 seconds). The Jamaican is one of the greatest legends in athletics, with eight gold medals to his name – originally nine until the 4x100m relay gold from Beijing 2008 was stripped due to Nesta Carter’s doping violation. He is a true superhero of speed. His last Olympic Games were in Rio 2016, where he achieved his second triple gold (100m, 200m, and 4x100m).
He was expected at the opening ceremony, but due to an Achilles tendon surgery in June, Bolt is in Jamaica, where he spoke to AS ahead of the sprint finals. (Note that Noah Lyles won the 100m gold but did not, as Bolt predicted, take the world record.)
Q: You are a legend with eight gold medals. Now, many aspire to take the crown you left behind in 2016, your last Olympics. Names like Noah Lyles, Erriyon Knighton, or the dark horse Letsile Tebogo will fight for gold at the Stade de France. Who do you think will be on the podium in the 100 and 200 meters?
A: The men’s races will be very exciting. There are many athletes who can win. The men’s top 10 in the 100 meters is separated by just about 10 milliseconds. I am very happy to say that Jamaica has strong athletes in the 100 this year. The 200 meters will probably be between the Americans and Tebogo, but never count out DeGrasse, who is the reigning champion.
The 100m record is safe for now... I should have run under 19 seconds in the 200m
Q: You said that Noah Lyles could break your 200m record. Do you honestly think the person who will break your record has been born yet?
A: I think the 100m record is safe for now. Most of the current athletes are running in the 9.70 and 9.80 seconds range lately. I should have run under 19 seconds in the 200m (I ran 19.19 in 2009). I wish I had done it during my career to keep the record for longer.
Q: At the start of your career, you competed a lot in the 400m. Tebogo, at 20 years old, qualified for the 100m, 200m, and 400m in Budapest. If you had continued in the 400m, do you think you could have won the Olympic gold and the world record?
A: I think it’s impossible to compete in all three distances due to the Olympic schedule. In the beginning, most people thought I would end up focusing on the 400m. I definitely had the potential to excel in the one-lap race, but I didn’t like the training.
Q: What is the limit of human capability in sprinting events? Will it be possible to go below 9.00 seconds in the 100m and below 19 seconds in the 200m?
A: I think breaking 9 seconds will be difficult unless there are some technological advances in the future that we are not aware of yet. And I believe I could have gone below 19 seconds in the 200m.
If I was healthy and trained well, I was confident of winning the most important competitions.
Q: Have you ever surpassed your world records in training?
A: No. Sprinters usually run faster in competitions.
Q: You have competed against athletes like Justin Gatlin, Asafa Powell, Tyson Gay, and Yohan Blake, among others. However, due to your dominance, could you have been your own greatest rival? If not, who was?
A: I have had strong rivals throughout my career. In the beginning, Wallace Spearmon and Tyson Gay, then Asafa Powell and Yohan Blake, and towards the end of my career, Justin Gatlin. They all pushed me to train hard to achieve my goals. Still, from my point of view, when I was healthy and did my work well in training, I always trusted that I would win the major competitions.
Q: Your end was not the dream finish for a legend. How did you imagine your last day as a sprinter?
A: 2017 was a year for the fans. I wasn’t training as much as I usually did and I wasn’t in my best shape.
Q: Let’s review your life since you were a young boy from the parish of Trelawny. What do your parents Wellesley and Jennifer mean to the human Usain and the athlete Usain?
A: I am very close to my parents and I am grateful for the way they raised me. They taught me how to behave as a human being and how to respect others. I believe those qualities helped me as an athlete.
The coach who influenced me the most was Glen Mills. He made me a world record holder.
Q: How do you remember your childhood in Sherwood Content?
A: I have good memories. It was a childhood full of fun, always running around and enjoying life.
Q: What comes to mind when you hear the names Darland Eaton and Pablo McNeil? Is McNeil the person who inspired you to become an athlete?
A: I respect all the teachers and coaches who helped me in my early days, but the coach who had the greatest influence on me is, without a doubt, Glen Mills. He took me from being very talented to being a world record holder.
In Jamaica, speed is our national sport
Q: In your early days, you rejected scholarships from the United States and chose Jamaica. In 2015, you donated $1.3 million to your childhood school. You are almost a god to your country. Do you owe more to Jamaica, or does Jamaica owe more to you?
A: I have always been very proud to represent Jamaica on the track and continue to be proud to represent it wherever I go.
Q: How do you explain that a country with less than three million people has produced so many elite sprinters like yourself, Asafa Powell, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, and Yohan Blake?
A: There’s a lot of talent. Some countries excel in swimming, some in football, others in baseball. In Jamaica, sprinting is our national sport.
Q: Glen Mills wanted you to compete in the 400 meters. However, you convinced him to let you run the 100 meters and won your first race in Retino, Greece...
A: We made a deal when I broke Don Quarrie’s national 200m record, which was that I could try the 100m. I broke the 200m record again at the 2007 Nationals, and then my agent found a 100m race for me in Retino, Greece. I won, running 10.03 without any specific training, and convinced my coach that I could be world-class if we trained for it.
Q: Since you were 15 years old, you have been under unique pressure, the pressure of being chosen to be the greatest sprinter of all time. Additionally, you suffer from scoliosis, and your left leg is slightly longer than your right leg, which also caused you a significant number of injuries throughout your life. All these factors would end the careers of most promising athletes. However, it made you stronger, and despite all this, you became the GOAT. What made you not give up? Did you ever consider quitting athletics at any point?
A: I won the World Junior Championships in Kingston when I was 15, and from there, there was a lot of expectation placed on me. The toughest years came after, constantly getting injured. It was a combination of Coach Mills’ training program and Dr. Müller-Wohlfahrt’s treatment of my back that helped me stay healthy enough to train at the required level to win professional races.
Nadal can play whatever he wants. He’s tennis history
Q: Your career could be compared to that of a Spanish athlete, Rafael Nadal, who is now fighting to play again after a lifetime of struggling with his body. What would you say to him?
A: Nadal has already had an amazing career, and I hope he can continue playing for as long as he wants. He has written his name in the history of tennis and should be very proud of his achievements.
Q: You are a football fanatic and a Manchester United fan. Do you plan to invest in the club? How do you see the future of United?
A: Well, a new investor has recently come in, and I hope things can improve in the coming years. I try to attend as many matches as I can, and I have a close relationship with the club.
I'm a big Cristiano fan and I admire him. And I joined United because of Van Nistelrooy.
Q: Speaking of United, Cristiano Ronaldo is one of its legends and you admire him. What does he mean to you as a United fan? Do you have a relationship with him?
A: I am a huge fan of Ronaldo and admire the way he has stayed at the elite level for so long. The way he takes care of his body and his desire to win are the same as when he was 18! It was Van Nistelrooy who made me a United fan. I love seeing him back at the club now as a member of the coaching staff.
Q: You debuted as a professional footballer. You played for Central Coast Mariners and Stromsgodset, and also trained with Dortmund. How do you remember that period?
A: It was a great time and experience. I have watched football all my life and love playing it. It was a good thing to do after retiring from athletics.
Q: Regarding the controversial comparisons between footballers and athletes, like Mbappé and yourself, when you were a footballer, what differences did you notice in the way your teammates ran compared to you? Should footballers train more for running? You advised Cristiano on how to run better.
A: The speed in athletics and football is completely different. Sprinters train to run fast in a straight line or around a curve for 100 or 200 meters. Footballers need to run fast repeatedly over 20 or 40 meters and be able to change direction quickly with and without the ball. There is no comparison. I ran the 100 meters in 9.58 seconds, but the fastest footballers would probably do it in 10.3 or 10.4 seconds. I don’t think Mbappé cares much about his 100-meter time as long as he keeps scoring goals and winning titles.
Q: In the past, you were criticized for your celebrations and labeled as arrogant. You argued that it was because you were happy. Did your attitude of wanting to enjoy the competition make you better? Do you think that ego is somewhat useful at the elite level?
A: I think the vast majority of fans enjoyed watching me run and celebrate after the races. It was my personal brand, and I had fun with it. I believe I helped the sport.
Q: Your most iconic celebration is the one with both arms pointing to the sky. What does it mean?
A: My ‘To di world’ pose is something that started in Beijing 2008 and continued throughout my career. I think even when I am 90 years old, people will still ask me to do the pose.
Q: You seem very happy on Instagram with your wife Kasi and your children Olympia Lightning, Thunder, and Saint Leo. What do you appreciate most about your life since leaving the track?
A: I miss the big competitions but not the hard training. For now, I am enjoying watching my children grow up and develop their own personalities.