'I’m not always happy doing it', Says Retired Usain Bolt

Sprint legend Usain Bolt has shared his thoughts about Tokyo Olympics 2021. Bolt, 35, told AFP that it was frustrating to watch the delayed 2020 Games from his home in Jamaica as his male countrymen flopped and Italy’s Lamont Jacobs claimed a shock victory. In an interview on Sunday, at the Dubai offices of his sponsor PepsiCo on Sunday, he said, “I really missed it. I was like, I wish I was there. Because for me, I live for those moments. So it was hard to watch." 

He said, "My coach said something to me at the end of my career. He said, ‘People are not getting faster. I was getting slower.’ I never looked at it that way. And it’s the facts because a lot of guys don’t really get faster. Because I have pushed the barrier so far and then I started going backwards time-wise, so for me 9.80 was possible to get done." 

He also said that none of the current athletes looked capable of beating his 100m and 200m world records of 9.58 and 19.19, rarely threatened since he set them in 2009.

He said, "I don’t think I’ve seen anybody in this generation right now which I personally feel will break the records. So I think I have a couple more years before somebody will actually break my world records." 

Additionally, he said, "I understand what it’s about. Racism, we’ve been through it so I understand the necessary aspect of it and what is needed." 

"Sometimes it gets a little bit, I wouldn’t say annoying. But I understand that I’ve done it to myself," he chuckled. 

“People really enjoy it and it’s for the fans, you know. I mean, it’s a picture that they will treasure forever. 

“So for me, I’m not always happy doing it, but I do it anyways because it’s for them and it makes them happy."