Bolt may retire after 2016 Olympics
Jamaican track star Usain
Bolt is considering retiring after the 2016
Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, he said
Wednesday.
But any plans for going out to grass at the
age of 30 would come after three more
years of domination that might include a
pop at the Commonwealth Games next year
and another shot at bettering his own
200m world record.
Bolt has dominated the competitive world of
sprinting since claiming three gold medals
at the 2008 Beijing Games but hinted ahead
of Friday’s season-ending Diamond League
meet in Brussels that Rio would be his third
and last.
“After the 2016 Olympics: that seems to be a
good idea, retiring when I’m still on top of
my career,” said the six-time Olympic gold
medallist.
“But again, if I want to continue to
dominate on the track I can’t afford an off
season, that is a lesson that I have learned.
This wasn’t a perfect season for me. I won
but it was not in a ‘Usain Bolt fashion’.”
‘Usain Bolt fashion’ or not, the 27-year-old
Jamaican still claimed a treble gold at last
month’s world championships, taking his
world gold medal haul to eight.
“Now that I’m getting a bit older, I know
that I have to stay injury free, maintain focus
and act responsible,” he said.
Bolt added that any plans for the 2014
season, a year with no global
championships, would be taken in October
after he had taken some time off.
“I will prepare for the next season very well.
First, I encouraged my coach (Glen Mills) to
turn it down a bit but he convinced me that
that is a bad option,” he said.
“You need to continue working hard,
reduce the risk to get injured and not
having to pick it up from scratch.
“So in 2014 I will be racing like I did in any
other season. The Commonwealth Games?
I’ve never been there before but I’ll leave it
up to my coach to decide on my competition
programme.”
Bolt also hinted that bettering his own
world record of 19.19sec in the 200m, his
favoured event, could be on the cards as
well.
“The 100m world record (which he also set)
is the hardest to break because it is more
technical,” Bolt said.
“In the 200m, if I can master the bend and
stay injury free, there is room for
improvement.
“As I said, I will prepare well to race as fast
as possible in 2014, and with no
championships on my mind I can
concentrate on just trying to race as fast as I
can.”
Bolt is considering retiring after the 2016
Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, he said
Wednesday.
But any plans for going out to grass at the
age of 30 would come after three more
years of domination that might include a
pop at the Commonwealth Games next year
and another shot at bettering his own
200m world record.
Bolt has dominated the competitive world of
sprinting since claiming three gold medals
at the 2008 Beijing Games but hinted ahead
of Friday’s season-ending Diamond League
meet in Brussels that Rio would be his third
and last.
“After the 2016 Olympics: that seems to be a
good idea, retiring when I’m still on top of
my career,” said the six-time Olympic gold
medallist.
“But again, if I want to continue to
dominate on the track I can’t afford an off
season, that is a lesson that I have learned.
This wasn’t a perfect season for me. I won
but it was not in a ‘Usain Bolt fashion’.”
‘Usain Bolt fashion’ or not, the 27-year-old
Jamaican still claimed a treble gold at last
month’s world championships, taking his
world gold medal haul to eight.
“Now that I’m getting a bit older, I know
that I have to stay injury free, maintain focus
and act responsible,” he said.
Bolt added that any plans for the 2014
season, a year with no global
championships, would be taken in October
after he had taken some time off.
“I will prepare for the next season very well.
First, I encouraged my coach (Glen Mills) to
turn it down a bit but he convinced me that
that is a bad option,” he said.
“You need to continue working hard,
reduce the risk to get injured and not
having to pick it up from scratch.
“So in 2014 I will be racing like I did in any
other season. The Commonwealth Games?
I’ve never been there before but I’ll leave it
up to my coach to decide on my competition
programme.”
Bolt also hinted that bettering his own
world record of 19.19sec in the 200m, his
favoured event, could be on the cards as
well.
“The 100m world record (which he also set)
is the hardest to break because it is more
technical,” Bolt said.
“In the 200m, if I can master the bend and
stay injury free, there is room for
improvement.
“As I said, I will prepare well to race as fast
as possible in 2014, and with no
championships on my mind I can
concentrate on just trying to race as fast as I
can.”
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