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Bolt eyes triple-triple in his last Olympics
Lighting Bolt: Usain Bolt and New York City runners ignite Times Square to launch Pumaâs most responsive running shoe, Ignite, Tuesday
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span class="inline inline-center">Lighting Bolt: Usain Bolt and New York City runners ignite Times Square to launch Puma's most responsive running shoe, Ignite, Tuesday.
Track and field star Usain Bolt is undoubtedly the fastest man on the planet. But few might know that he could have been a cricket star or the world's most sought-after soccer player if not for his father.
'I played cricket most of the time. I was also good at track and field. And at high school it would be between cricket or track and field and I said to my dad that I wanted to play cricket. That's what I started with and I loved. And he said no,' Bolt told The Jakarta Post during an interview with a group of traveling journalists at the Thomson Reuters Building in Times Square, New York, on Tuesday.
The Jamaican speedster, whose supremacy on the track has earned him the media nickname 'Lightning Bolt', was in the city to promote Puma's new line of Ignite shoes.
'You should do track and field because it's an individual sport,' he said, recalling what his father told him. 'Cricket is a team sport. Sometimes you are part of its problem. When you do individual events, you could do what you want to do. You have nothing to worry about,' he said.
His father's advice proved to be a defining moment toward Bolt's stardom. He won his first annual high school championship medal in 2001, taking silver in the 200 meters. He has since shaped up on the world stage, becoming the first man to hold both the 100-meter and 200-meter world records.
He also helped the Jamaican team set a world record in the 4x100 meters relay. He is now the reigning Olympic champion in these three events following his outstanding performances in Beijing 2008 and London 2012.
His sprinting achievements have earned him awards, including the IAAF World Athlete of the Year, Track & Field Athlete of the Year and three-time Laureus World Sportsman of the Year.
He capped his dominance in the Olympics with a world championship title in 2013, for the eighth time in three different disciplines, before a foot injury made him almost idle the following season.
With Bolt out of action, Justin Gatlin took advantage and became the world's top sprinter. The American had six of the world's seven fastest times last year, including a 9.77-second effort, matching Bolt's winning 100-meter mark from the 2013 World Championships.
Gatlin should pose a threat to Bolt's ambition to make a triple-triple at the next Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
'Triple-triple? That's the master plan. If I can get this season injury-free, I should be good to keep it going,' he said.
He refused to mention certain rivals who could become potential spoilers.
'For me, I don't like to single out people because you never know in this event. Anybody in the six lanes in the finals will be my competitors. For the championships, people work hard,' he said.
He said he had been more focused on training, which included a requirement that he restrict junk food.
'I have been training since October. It has been much more intense. I really cut down on fast food,' he said.
A local competition on Saturday will be his first test before he can pull his power back to reassert his authority throughout the season, which will include his return to the Bird's Nest, the venue of the 2008 Olympics and the 2015 World Championships in Beijing.
He said he would be keen to run another World Championships in the next two years before going into retirement.
He said he had yet to sort out what to do in his after-run time, but was disinclined to become a coach.
'It's a lot to do, being a coach. I can't do it,' he said.
Bolt once showed his interest in playing for the Manchester United soccer club. The idea seems to be in the past now that the English Premier League team has another coach to succeed Sir Alex Ferguson.
'I was interested to play for Manchester United under Ferguson. I wanted to be part of his team,' he said.
Bolt seems destined to work out his own track, establishing a legacy that he will soon leave behind in two years' time.
