The tracks to follow after legendary Lightning Bolt retires
Getting over with the surprising ending of his phenomenal career, Usain Bolt continues to be a legend.
Almost a month after retiring, Bolt, who holds the world record of 9.58 seconds in the 100m and 19.19 in the 200m relays, went on to do his other endeavors such as his duties as an ambassador to one of his sponsors, attending its promotional event in Kyoto, Japan.
In an interview, the 31 year-old retired Jamaican sprinter, who garnered three gold medals in three consecutive Olympic events, gaining him a total of nine gold Olympic medals and 11 World Championship titles, looks forward to having his world records as the bar in his field for quite a while.
"I think (they're) going to last a while," Bolt said during the event. "I think our era with Yohan Blake, Justin Gatlin and Asafa Powell and all these guys was the best era of athletes. If it was going to be broken, it would have been broken in this era, so I think I have at least 15 to 20 more years."
Bowing down with a hamstring injury, he ended the 4x100m relay of the Jamaican team with a bronze medal, during the 2017 World Athletics Championship held in London.
This unexpected ending of a remarkable career shocked the whole world, as the most decorated sprinter of this era ended in third place on the other hand, in the preceding 100m run, as he lost to American Justin Gatlin, dubbed as the villain in his career.
Although Gatlin believes that the legend will return again in the field, Bolt dismisses the idea.
"I have nothing to prove, that's the main reason I left track and field. After you do everything you want there is no reason to stick around," Bolt said during the event in Kyoto
As he mentioned earlier after the results of the race came out, Bolt had no regrets with the outcome of his last competition. “I came out and did my best; win, lose or draw. I did it for the fans, they wanted me to do one more season. No one is going to be happy to not win. But it doesn’t change anything in my career,” Bolt clarifies.
“I’ve proved to the world I’m one of the greatest athletes,” said Bolt. “I don’t think this changes anything. I’ve done my part as an athlete, to uplift the sport and show it’s getting better. I can’t be too disappointed. I did my best. It’s hard to be sad with the energy that the crowd was giving me. They stayed and they shouted and they cheered,” he added.
Furthermore, he recalls that he was enjoying the sport when he was younger, during his first two Olympics, by which he considered were easier compared to his latest competitions. “I think my last three years were the toughest years for me because then I had done so much I found myself thinking 'Why am I still doing this? I've accomplished everything. I don't really need to prove anything else.' But the team that I had around me really helped me to push myself to set the bar so high."
The next legend?
As of the moment, Bolt said he does not see anyone who will follow his footsteps.
"It's hard for me to pick someone," he said. "I think what made me stand out was not only the fast times that I ran but my personality that people really enjoyed and loved.” Bolt recalls.
The undisputed track and field athlete of his time recognized that sports is unworthy to trade the soul to. Winning the 200m run in the world junior games at 15, Bolt had many offers to join US track teams but he turned them all down and did his training in his country.
“If you want to be a star in sports and take over a sport you have to let people know who you are as a person, not just as a track athlete,” he added.
Bolt also reminds his country's young athletes that they will have to step up now that he's out of the race, as Jamaica only brought home one gold medal in this year’s championship.
"The biggest thing with Jamaica now is if the youngsters want it," the legendary athlete noted. "Over the years, one thing I've learned is you have to want to be great. If you don't want to be great, it won't happen."
He furthers as he explains his observations on the trend among the younger athletes. "I've noticed a lot of the young athletes, as soon as they get their first contract and start making money, they really just don't care as much anymore," Bolt rationalizes.
"Hopefully, a few of these young guys are going to be hungry and want to be great and if we get those guys we will be OK but so far, it is not looking good," said Bolt with an encouraging tone.
Where would we see the Lightning Bolt
His confidence on calling himself one of the best in his field, which are backed up by facts, have always been coated in humility and generosity.
Furthermore, his foundation, the Usain Bolt Foundation (UBF), together with Jamaica National Foundation (JN Foundation), will be hosting the third Heroes In Action Fun Run, a charity event wherein proceeds would go to the Trelawny Infirmary, in Jamaica, which houses some 62 senior citizens.
The legendary track and field athlete values the elderly, thus making them the beneficiary of this event with the theme “Run For Our Heroes”.
“Our elders and senior citizens are to be cherished. Without their endless sacrifice during our early years, we wouldn’t be capable of what we are doing today,” Bolt points out.
This 4 and 10 kilometer run would be held on October 15, 2017, at the Falmouth Cruise Port in Jamaica. Thus, Bolt urges everyone to join this worthy cause by signing up to participate by October 11, via the forms that can be found in the JN Foundation website.
Bolt has achieved all that he has in the spirit of celebration, where life is ought to be celebrated. With this, he also manages to pursue his advocacies and charity works, in the name of life being worth than any gold, life meant to be celebrated.
His image as the sprinter that manages to smile at the camera as his opponents are behind him, and afterwards do his signature lightning pose that charms the crowd would outlast in the generations to come. After all, the greatest athletes of all time remind us despite being in the peak of their success, everything is just sports that ought to be played, by which they share to us spectators their experiences by letting us feel the thrill.
More so, known as a Manchester United fan, Bolt says he is interested in playing soccer. "Something I've always wanted to do is play football. My team is working on that but we haven't confirmed anything yet,” said Bolt. .
He also mentioned the possibility of settling down and getting married when asked where he sees himself in 20 years. “Hopefully I’ll be married with three kids,” he said, “still in track and field and just watching sport grow. I said I won’t be one of those parents who force their kids to do the sport, but if they want to run I will tell and show them it’s a great sport.”
Thus, mentoring the Jamaican youth about the sport he has so long electrified is one of the things that he intends to do on his retirement. But not so fast.
Known to be the chill and fun type person, he plans on relaxing first. “My bucket list right now is to have some fun,” he said, “to just go out and have a drink. I’ve had a stressful championships, so I want to spend some time with my family, too.” ###
