The legendary Usain Bolt is convinced: if he had come out of retirement for the Olympic Games in Tokyo last summer, he would have won the 100 meters, he told AFP. Four years after leaving the athletics tracks, Bolt, 35, is still so devastating… now with words. “Yes,” he said in response to the question of whether he could have won the 100 meters at the Tokyo Olympics. “I really missed it, I thought to myself, I would like to be there, because I live for those moments, it was difficult for me to watch this race, ”explained the one who was nicknamed“ Lightning Bolt ”(lightning, lightning) in the offices in Dubai of Pepsi, the one of its sponsors.
His frustration was all the greater as the 100-meter final was won in 9’80 to everyone’s surprise by an unknown to the general public, the Italian Lamont Marcell Jacobs. “When I retired (in 2017), my coach told me something: Your opponents are not faster, it’s you who are slower. I had never considered it like that, ”explained the eight-time Olympic champion. “And it’s a fact: a lot of athletes don’t really improve their times. I pushed the limits so much, I started to go backwards (from a lap point of view) with time. Running in 9”80 (Lamont’s time in the final), it was possible, ”he insisted.
If he thought about stepping up for the Tokyo Olympics, postponed for a year in 2021 because of the Covid, Bolt quickly gave up on this project: “I succeeded in everything there was to succeed in this sport, the question was whether I had the motivation, ”admitted Bolt, who has amassed eleven world titles during his career. If the results in Tokyo of the Jamaican men’s sprint (no representative in the 100 meters final, 5th in the 4×100 relay) sorry (“It’s not good”), Bolt has an even tougher tooth with his successors at the top. of the world sprint. It’s simple, he doesn’t believe any of them capable of beating, or even approaching, his world records in the 100 meters (9”58) and 200 meters (19”19). “I don’t think I’ve seen anyone in the current generation who could break these records,” he said. I still have a few years ahead of me to (take advantage of) these records ”.
His lightning-shaped gesture has become cult
Bolt, who has tried to embark on a one-to-one professional football career, would like to help World Athletics promote across the world of sports that made him famous and wealthy. He even made the request to the boss of world athletics Sebastian Coe. But he does not ultimately aim for the presidency of the International Federation: “I would not want this job, too much stress and work,” he swept away.
If these times, records and titles have marked the spirits, it is above all his relaxation and his lightning-shaped gesture that has become cult with which he celebrated his victories that do not forget those who meet him and that he is called for. photos and selfies. “Sometimes it gets a bit, I wouldn’t say annoying, but it’s a lot, but I’m primarily responsible,” he admits. It doesn’t always make me happy to do it, but I do it anyway, because it’s for my fans and it makes them happy ”.
