London: Usain Bolt took an emotional final bow on the track at the end of the World Championships here Sunday before declaring that, definitely and definitively, there was no way he would ever return to sprinting.
After embarking on a special lap of honour so slow that you could not believe that we were saying farewell to the world’s fastest man, Bolt was asked by reporters already missing him whether he might ever change his mind.
“No, I’ve seen too many people come back and make things worse and shame themselves. I won’t be one of those people who come back,” Bolt asserted firmly.
Twenty four hours earlier, the 30-year-old Jamaican’s matchless sprint career had ended painfully on the last leg of the 4 x 100 metres relay final as he crumpled to the ground in the London Stadium with a hamstring injury.
Bolt, who admitted that it had been a terrible end of a ‘stressful’ championship for him after also losing his 100 metres crown, said he had felt consoled Sunday when someone told him ‘Muhammad Ali lost his last fight too – so don’t be too stressed about it’.
Already he was looking forward to an exciting future, he said, with his management camp talking to IAAF president Sebastian Coe, about what he might be able to do for the sport in an ambassadorial capacity.
He also revealed that his coach Glen Mills, the sage of Jamaican athletics, wanted him to become his coaching assistant.
Bolt also said that youngsters, be it in any field, should never shy away from hard work. “I’ve proven that by working hard, anything is possible. For me, I was sitting down today (Sunday) and doing an interview. My motto is anything is possible,” he stated.
“It shows that everyone should continue trying. I personally feel this is a good message to send to youngsters to push on. If I can leave that to the younger generation, then that’s a good legacy to leave,” the legendary sprinter added.
Agencies
