Usain Bolt was interviewed by Eurosport UK and reflected on his stellar career. He spoke about his “regret” of not having run the 200 meters in under 19 seconds.
About 15 years after setting world records in the 100 and 200 meters, Usain Bolt remains the fastest man in the world. No other sprinter has yet matched his times – 9.58 seconds in the premier sprint event and 19.19 seconds in the 200 meter. Many athletes are trying to take center stage and come close to these astounding times.
Featured in the second episode of “The Power of the Olympics,” Bolt was interviewed by Eurosport UK on the sidelines of an event organized by Puma in Jamaica.
In the interview, Bolt confirmed that he has no regrets about his career, but if he had to name one, it would be quite clear: not breaking the 19-second barrier in the 200 meters.
“It was my favorite distance. If I had managed to go under 19 seconds, it would have been a great achievement, and I would have liked to do it. If I had any regret in my career, it would be not running the 200 under 19 seconds,” he said, according to Eurosport.
Bolt also revisited several themes from his career, from his incredible diet consisting solely of chicken nuggets during the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where he is estimated to have eaten over 100 per day, to the gold won with the Jamaican 4×100 relay at the Chinese edition of the Five Rings, which was later revoked due to Nesta Carter’s doping positive.
“That’s how it went, I’m not going to cry over it. It was very sad when I found out they would revoke one of the nine Olympic golds I had won, but what could I have done?”
“Having won eight Olympic golds means much more to me than the world records. I dominated for several years, like no one had ever done before, and it won’t be easy for others to replicate what I did. Winning eight Olympic gold medals during my career means much more to me than the various world records.”
Finally, he joked about a potential return to competition, perhaps to engage in a thrilling track duel with American Noah Lyles at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“No, it’s too late now to do that! I think that if I wanted to return to athletics, I should have done it two years after my retirement in 2017, perhaps for one last Olympics in Tokyo 2020. Now I am retired, very happy to enjoy life and be busy with my children,” he said.
“For the first time in my life, at Paris 2024, I will go to the Olympic Games as a spectator and enjoy the events. I will also be able to bring my family, which is a wonderful thing.”
