In Rio for the Olympic Games, the 100m and 200m world record holder made an unforgettable exit from his press conference, dancing his way off the stage with a bevy of Brazilian beauties. Usain Bolt dances samba at a press conference.
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It can be recalled that Bolt suffered from a hamstring injury, but contrary to some speculations, he is going to be out there and compete to the very end.
No wonder organisers opted to stage it at the Cidade das Artes, the largest theatre in South America. Yet Johnson told the Radio Times: “I’d have been first”. “I try to entertain and make it different”.
It was a reminder of just what athletics will lose when Bolt walks away from the sport next year after the World Championships in London. “Michael Johnson’s world record lasted for 12 years, until Usain Bolt ran 19.30 seconds to win gold at the Beijing Olympics”.
Bolt is preparing to bow out as athletics reels from two of the biggest controversies in the sport’s history, the Russian doping scandal and corruption allegations against the former leadership of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). “I’ve proven myself over and over again”.
“We are weeding out the bad ones and I personally think we are on the right track”.
“I think I am more nervous over the 200 metres than anything else, for some reason”.
“I’m never anxious. I think it was the fact that I didn’t get to compete on my trial and I was just coming off the back of an injury, I was a bit rusty”, said Bolt. “I missed out on trials, and on training the last few weeks of the season”.
And it is the 200m mark he wants to break more than anything.
“In life nothing is guaranteed”, he added. “Then it will be like, ‘finally, ‘ you know what I mean?” He’s an Olympic champ, World champ.
“I go out there to compete and wow the crowd and entertain. So until somebody beats him, until somebody puts him in his place, he’s going to continue to do what he wants to do”, said Rodgers, who himself failed to qualify for the USA’s 100m team here, but will feature in the 4x100m relay. “I don’t worry about that”.
On Monday, Bolt said his race with Gatlin in Rio won’t be as close.
Bolt’s final event at the Rio Olympics is the 100m track and field on Thursday, Aug. 18. I went back with my coach and analysed the race, he said “it was not good, we need to work on it”.
If Bolt matches his previous triple gold medal performances, he will match the athletics record of nine gold medals. As a young kid, I grew up looking forward to the big games.
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“Championships are what matters”.
