When he wakes up on Sunday morning after the men’s 100m final on Saturday night, Usain Bolt wants to see headlines screaming, Unbeatable, Unstoppable.
“Usain Bolt is retiring unbeatable over the individual event. For me that would be the headline. Unbeatable, Unstoppable Usain Bolt,” said the man who is considered a legend of sports, not just athletics.
Bolt, who will turn 31 on August 21, has called an end to a magnificent career at the end of the World Championships after winning almost everything in front of him starting as a precarious 15-year-old at the IAAF World Junior Championships in Jamaica in 2002.
He went on to win nine Olympic gold medals and 11 World Championships titles and said it felt good when a sportsman can call it quits while on top.
“For me, it’s great. Anybody that decides when they need to retire, when they need to walk away from anything they doing is always a great feeling. That means you are satisfied with what you have done throughout the years and you feel accomplished. So, for me, it’s a wonderful feeling,” he noted at a crowded Puma press conference yesterday in London.
The sprint legend dismissed the notion that he might be tempted to change his mind after retiring from the sport. In fact, he is anxiously looking forward to being a spectator.
“I am looking forward to it. Sitting down talking…I don’t know where I will be watching it from, sure I will be betting on somebody to win and that’s the fun part of it,” said Bolt.
“The next championships should be fun because I will be watching to see who can hold the nerves, especially if somebody is running good all season, then to see who can hold their nerves. So I am looking forward to that,” he added.
Meanwhile, Bolt also watched tributes on a big screen from close friend, sprinter Asafa Powell, actor Samuel L Jackson, and French footballer Thierry Henry, and Sang Tao, the cameraman who sensationally knocked Bolt down in Beijing in 2015.
“As a friend, a competitor and a teammate, I just want to thank you for all you have done for the sport. You have done an amazing job and I want to thank you for all you have done for track and field in the entire world,” said Powell, whose world record of 9.74secs Bolt lowered to 9.72secs in 2008.
“I also want to congratulate you on being the second best athlete of Jamaica’s track and field history,” said Powell, with a laugh. (Howard Walker/ Jamaica Observer)
