athletics
A long sprint career means more to Bolt than world records
“I dominated for such a long period of time, it’s never been done before and it will be hard to repeat,” said 37-year-old Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt. photo
© Matias J. Ocner/Miami Herald/AP/dpa
Usain Bolt’s records in the 100 and 200 meters have stood for almost 15 years. The Jamaican is even more proud of something else.
For the former sprint star In retrospect, Usain Bolt says the duration of his superiority is much more important than his world records.
“I have dominated for such a long period of time, it has never happened before and it will be difficult to repeat it,” the 37-year-old Jamaican told the TV channel Eurosport in an interview yesterday.
From 2008 to 2016, Bolt won nine Olympic gold medals, but his 2008 relay success was subsequently revoked due to a doping offense committed by his teammate Nesta Carter. Bolt was also world champion eleven times and the world records he set at the World Championships in Berlin in 2009 are still valid today. Bolt sprinted 9.58 seconds over 100 meters and 19.19 seconds over 200 meters.
“If I would regret anything in my career, it would be that I didn’t run under 19 seconds,” said Bolt. “If I could have run under 19 seconds, that would have been a big milestone.” A comeback is no longer an issue for him; he wants to watch the games in Paris in August with his family.
The world’s best sprinter is currently the American Noah Lyles, who won the 100 meter, 200 meter and relay titles at the World Championships last year. The 26-year-old has already come very close to Bolt’s world record in the 200 meters in 19.31 seconds.