Exclusive: Usain Bolt on his biggest regret and why he is not missing athletics
Usain Bolt has admitted he headed into retirement from athletics with one big regret, as he told Yahoo Sport that he has no temptation to make a return to the track.
After a decade of dominance of a sport so horribly tarnished by an infamous list of high profile drug cheats, eight-time Olympic gold medal winning great Bolt stands proud as the only clean champion in an era of disgrace.
Maybe I say now I am the best of all-time
Yet despite his dominance of the sport and a profile that saw him transcend athletics and become a household name around the world, he held true to one piece of advice from his parents Wellesley and Jennifer from first to last.
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Bolt may have exuded unshakable confidence as he claimed more gold medals galore and shattered every world record on his radar, but this is not a superstar who has allowed success to got to his head.
“My parents would be so angry with me if I ever showed disrespect to people around me and that has always been at the front of my mind,” began the surprisingly humble Bolt, as he sat down for a world exclusive interview with the Yahoo Sport at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure.
“Okay, so my career was pretty amazing and maybe I say now I am the best of all-time, but that’s only because I proved it in my career.
Respect
“I worked hard for everything I had. People say it looked easy for me, but it was a lot of work, a lot of pain and a now I have retired, I can enjoy it, but I always stayed true to that one big quality my parents taught me. Respect everyone around me.”
Bolt’s aura ensured his presence filled the vast hall at the Atlantis resort in the Bahamas where our meeting took place, but there was no ego in existence for a sprint king whose list of achievements is second to none in the history of his sport.
This icon headed into retirement with a total of 21 major gold medals in his incredible collection, while his world records in the 100m and 200m are etched into the history books.
My next ambition is to try and make it as a pro soccer player
Bolt’s haul of Olympic golds is only depleted because his team-mate Nesta Carter failed a drugs test that saw his ninth gold taken away after success the 4x100m relay at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and therein lies the problem that has, inevitably, cast a shadow over achievements that deserve acclaim.
This Jamaican great never failed a drugs test, yet ask any casual athletics observer for a view on the greatest sprinter of all-time and many will find negativity amid his glory.
It is the fate tarnishing every successful athlete, as they are forced to answer for the crimes committed by those around them, even if their own legend has not been bruised by a failed test.
Bolt’s retirement from the track last year leaves a hole that may never be filled, yet he hopes those who aim to follow in his lightning footsteps are ready to step up to the plate.
“I am not missing track and field, it was my time to retire,” he adds. “I achieved everything I wanted and maybe I will miss it when the meetings start again and I am not there, but I don’t think so. I can travel where I want now, I have time to do more things I want to do and I feel happy with the decision to retire.
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“My next ambition is to try and make it as a pro soccer player and I have a trial with Borussia Dortmund in March to see if that is possible, but athletics will always be a big part of my life.
“What happens next in athletics….it is a question I have been asked a lot since my retirement, but it is up to the young guys to provide answers now. I retired at the same time as Mo Farah and that is two big names to try and replace, so it’s going to be difficult.
Promote
“I believe track and field can have a bright future and if I can help to promote the sport, then I am happy to give something back because athletics is what made me who I am. I have said this to Seb Coe (International Association of Athletics Federations chief) and I want to help in any way.
“I always told the younger athletes that you cannot rely on me or the other big stars forever and we need all the young athletes to come together and encourage people to watch the sport.
“As for my own career, I am happy by what happened and don’t look back and regret the bad days, the moments when things went wrong for me on the track. I believe everything happens for a reason in life, so I don’t look at races that I lost and wish things could have been different.
“The only thing I really wanted that didn’t happen was to run sub-19 seconds (for the 200 meters). That is the only thing that I really regret. When I was a kid, I thought it was possible. Maybe it will never happen now. I believe I was the only could have done it. It was not to be.”
USAIN BOLT
Born: August 21st 1986
Gold medals
2008 Olympics – 100m, 200m
2012 Olympics – 100m, 200m, 4x100m relay
2016 Olympics – 100m, 200m, 4x100m relay
World Championships
2009 – 100m, 200m, 4x100m relay
2011 – 200m, 4x100m relay
2013 – 100m, 200m, 4x100m relay
2015 – 100m, 200m, 4x100m relay
Commonwealth Games
2014 – 4x100m relay
World records
100m – 9.58
200m – 19.19
Usain Bolt spoke to Yahoo Sport in association with PokerStars. Find out more information here.
