Usain Bolt says being a father to 3 children is harder than winning gold at the Olympics
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- The retired Olympic sprinter is father to one girl and twin boys.
- The fastest man in the world says that the Olympics was easy in comparison to raising them.
- Bolt is not forcing his sporting lifestyle on his children, he told People magazine.
Usain Bolt, the retired champion sprinter, has said that the Olympics was easy compared to raising his three children.
Bolt, 34, is father to one girl – Olympia Lightning, born May 2020 – and twin boys – Saint Leo and Thunder, both born June 2021.
In an exclusive interview with People magazine, Jamaica’s eight-time gold medalist said that having three children is harder than the Olympics.
“[It’s harder] being a father of three, of all of them, especially when they’re crying. It’s great, but everybody’s crying. It’s pandemonium in the house.” Bolt said.
Bolt parents his children with long-time partner Kasi Bennett, a Jamaican model.
Since bringing their twins into the world, Bolt tells People that they have had help from both his parents and Bennett’s parents, with Bolt saying that this helps with how “crazy” it is to have three small children.
As the world gathers to watch the pandemic-era 2020 Olympics, the question is whether the next generation of Bolts will be joining their father’s sporting legacy.
The world record-holding Olympian says his children are indeed growing tall and showing physical signs of athleticism, but the fastest man in the world told People that he will let that choice belong to his children.
“I’m sure they’re going to be tall, I can tell. When they get their checkup, they’re like, ‘Wow. They’re really growing. They’re going to be tall.’ So, I know that much, but for me, anything they want to do, I’m just going to support them,” the proud dad says. “That’s always a key thing: Just support your child in whatever they want to do. So if they don’t want to run, if they don’t want to do sports, I’m okay with it.”
Though Bolt would love for his kids to be trained athletes who continue his legacy when they grow up, he says he won’t force his kids into competing — even if he would love to cheer them on from the stands.
“It would be wonderful to sit in the stands and watch any one of them just to compete. That’s a high level, and even to win, it would be a dream come true. But as I said, I won’t pressure. I won’t pressure, but it would be a great experience as a dad, as an Olympian, to watch your kid as an Olympian, running with the Olympians.”
The 2020 Tokyo Olympics is the first to follow Bolt’s retirement from athletics, meaning this year the games will – amongst other things, due to the pandemic – be missing an iconic sporting figure.
Usain Bolt on empty Tokyo Olympics stadium: ‘I’m happy I don’t have to do it’
Bolt is considered one of the greatest sprinters of all time
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Athletics – IAAF Diamond League Herculis meeting – 100m Men – Louis II Stadium, Monaco – July 21, 2017. Prince Albert II of Monaco congratulates Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt.
Most dominant sprinters in Olympics history, and while he’s retired from the sport, he said Thursday he probably wouldn’t be competing if there were no fans in the stands.
Tokyo organizers backtracked on allowing fans in the stadiums for Olympic events due to the coronavirus pandemic and the uptick in reported cases in the days leading up to the start of the Games. Athletes, team delegates, media and sponsors are the only people allowed in the stands.
For the eight-time gold medalist, having no fans wouldn’t have sat well with him.
“I don’t know how I would do it,” Bolt told the Canadian Press. “I live for the fans, that energy and that vibe, that’s something I enjoyed doing. I think it would be really tough for me personally to compete in an empty stadium, I’m happy I don’t have to do it, (but) I wish the athletes all the best.”
He added that it will be tough for organizers to build the same environment for the Olympics since there will be no fans. He said the athletes participating should still keep their focus.
“The athletes just have to remember that’s why they’re there, to compete at the highest level. This is still the Olympics, empty stadium or not, you just have to go out there and do your best,” he said.
Bolt is the world record holder in the 100-meter and 200-meter sprint. He was also on the team that set the world record in the 4×100 meter relay.
Bolt retired after the 2017 World Championships.
Usain Bolt
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Bolt at the 2016 Summer Olympics
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Usain St Leo Bolt |
| Nickname(s) | Lightning Bolt[1] |
| Nationality | Jamaican |
| Born | 21 August 1986 (age 34) Sherwood Content, Jamaica |
| Height | 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)[2] |
| Weight | 94 kg (207 lb)[3] |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Track and field |
| Event(s) | Sprints |
| Club | Racers Track Club |
| Coached by | Glen Mills[4] |
| Retired | 2017[5] |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personal best(s) | |
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Medal record
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Usain Bolt (Jamaïque).Sprinter Usain Bolt of Jamaica sets a new world record, and clinches his second gold medal, in the Men’s 200M final.
Usain St Leo Bolt, OJ, CD (/ˈjuːseɪn/; born 21 August 1986) is a Jamaican retired sprinter, widely considered to be the greatest sprinter of all time.[13][14][15] He is a world record holder in the 100 metres, 200 metres and 4 × 100 metres relay.
An eight-time Olympic gold medallist, Bolt is the only sprinter to win Olympic 100 m and 200 m titles at three consecutive Olympics (2008, 2012 and 2016). He also won two 4 × 100 relay gold medals. He gained worldwide fame for his double sprint victory in world record times at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which made him the first person to hold both records since fully automatic time became mandatory.
An eleven-time World Champion, he won consecutive World Championship 100 m, 200 m and 4 × 100 metres relay gold medals from 2009 to 2015, with the exception of a 100 m false start in 2011. He is the most successful male athlete of the World Championships. Bolt is the first athlete to win four World Championship titles in the 200 m and is one of the most successful in the 100 m with three titles.
Bolt improved upon his second 100 m world record of 9.69 with 9.58 seconds in 2009 – the biggest improvement since the start of electronic timing. He has twice broken the 200 metres world record, setting 19.30 in 2008 and 19.19 in 2009. He has helped Jamaica to three 4 × 100 metres relay world records, with the current record being 36.84 seconds set in 2012. Bolt’s most successful event is the 200 m, with three Olympic and four World titles. The 2008 Olympics was his international debut over 100 m; he had earlier won numerous 200 m medals (including 2007 World Championship silver) and held the world under-20 and world under-18 records for the event until being surpassed by Erriyon Knighton in 2021.
His achievements as a sprinter have earned him the media nickname “Lightning Bolt”, and his awards include the IAAF World Athlete of the Year, Track & Field Athlete of the Year, BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year (three times) and Laureus World Sportsman of the Year (four times). Bolt retired after the 2017 World Championships, when he finished third in his last solo 100 m race, opted out of the 200 m, and pulled up in the 4×100 m relay final.
Recognition
- IAAF World Athlete of the Year: 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016[316]
- Track & Field Athlete of the Year: 2008, 2009
- Laureus World Sportsman of the Year: 2009, 2010, 2013, 2017[317][318][319]
- BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year: 2008, 2009, 2012
- L’Équipe Champion of Champions: 2008, 2009, 2012, 2015
- Jamaica Sportsman of the year: 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013
- AIPS Male Athlete of the Year: 2015[320]
- Marca Leyenda (2009)
- In October 2008, he was made a Commander of the Order of Distinction,[321] which entitles him to use the post nominal letters CD.[322]
- In 2009, at age 23, Usain Bolt became the youngest member so far[323] of the Order of Jamaica.[324][325] The award was “for outstanding performance in the field of athletics at the international level”.[323] In the Jamaican honours system, this is considered the equivalent of a knighthood in the British honours system,[326] and entitles him to be formally styled “The Honourable“, and to use the post nominal letters OJ
Records
Bolt’s personal best of 9.58 seconds in 2009 in the 100 metres is the fastest ever run.[334] Bolt also holds the second fastest time of 9.63 seconds,[86] the current Olympic record,[88] and set two previous world records in the event. Bolt’s personal best of 19.19 s in the 200 metres is the world record. This was recorded at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics in Berlin against a headwind of −0.3 m/s. This performance broke his previous world record in the event, his 19.30 s clocking in winning the 2008 Olympic 200 metres title.
Bolt has been on three world-record-setting Jamaican relay teams. The first record, 37.10 seconds, was set in winning gold at the 2008 Summer Olympics, although the result was voided in 2017 when the team was disqualified. The second record came at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics, a time of 37.04 seconds. The third world record was set at the 2012 Summer Olympics, a time of 36.84 seconds.[335]
Bolt also holds the 200 metres world teenage best results for the age categories 15 (20.58 s), 16 (20.13 s, former world youth record),[336][337] 17 (19.93 s) and 18 (19.93 s, world junior record).[86] He also holds the 150 metres world best set in 2009, during which he ran the last 100 metres in 8.70 seconds, the quickest timed 100 metres ever.[86]
Bolt completed a total of 53 wind-legal sub-10-second performances in the 100 m during his career, with his first coming on 3 May 2008 and his last on 5 August 2017 at the World Championships. His longest undefeated streak in the 200 m was in 17 finals, lasting from 12 June 2008 to 3 September 2011. He also had a win-streak covering 14 100 m finals from 16 August 2008 to 16 July 2010.[338]
Guinness World Records
Bolt claimed 19 Guinness World Records, and, after Michael Phelps, holds the second highest number of accumulative Guinness World Records for total number of accomplishments and victories in sports.[339]
- Fastest run 150 metres (male)
- Most medals won at the IAAF Athletics World Championships (male)
- Most gold medals won at the IAAF Athletics World Championships (male)
- Most Athletics World Championships Men’s 200 m wins
- Most consecutive Olympic gold medals won in the 100 metres (male)
- Most consecutive Olympic gold medals won in the 200 metres (male)
- Most Olympic men’s 200 metres Gold medals
- Fastest run 200 metres (male)
- Most Men’s IAAF World Athlete of Year Trophies
- First Olympic track sprint triple-double
- Highest annual earnings for a track athlete
- Most wins of the 100 m sprint at the Olympic Games
- First athlete to win the 100 m and 200 m sprints at successive Olympic Games
- Fastest run 100 metres (male)
- First man to win the 200 m sprint at successive Olympic Games
- Most Athletics World Championships Men’s 100 m wins
- Most tickets sold at an IAAF World Championships
- Most competitive 100 m sprint races completed in sub 10 seconds
- Fastest relay 4×100 metres (male)
Average and top speeds
From his record time of 9.58 s for the 100 m sprint, Usain Bolt’s average ground speed equates to 37.58 km/h (23.35 mph). However, once his reaction time of 0.148 s is subtracted, his time is 9.44 s, making his average speed 38.18 km/h (23.72 mph).[141] Bolt’s top speed, based on his split time of 1.61 s for the 20 metres from the 60- to 80-metre marks (made during the 9.58 WR at 100m), is 12.42 m/s (44.72 km/h (27.79 mph)).[340]
Season’s bests
World rank in parentheses
| Year | 100 metres | 200 metres | 400 metres |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | — | 21.73 | 48.28 |
| 2002 | — | 20.58 | 47.12 |
| 2003 | — | 20.13 (9) | 45.35 |
| 2004 | — | 19.93 (2) | 47.58 |
| 2005 | — | 19.99 (3) | — |
| 2006 | — | 19.88 (4) | 47.58 |
| 2007 | 10.03 (12) | 19.75 (3) | 45.28 |
| 2008 | 9.69 (1) | 19.30 (1) | 46.94 |
| 2009 | 9.58 (1) | 19.19 (1) | 45.54 |
| 2010 | 9.82 (4) | 19.56 (1) | 45.87 |
| 2011 | 9.76 (1) | 19.40 (2) | — |
| 2012 | 9.63 (1) | 19.32 (1) | — |
| 2013 | 9.77 (1) | 19.66 (1) | 46.44 |
| 2014 | 9.98 (16) | — | — |
| 2015 | 9.79 (2) | 19.55 (1) | 46.38 |
| 2016 | 9.81 (2) | 19.78 (3) | — |
| 2017 | 9.95 (10) | — | — |
World rankings
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International competitions
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | CARIFTA Games | Bridgetown, Barbados | 2nd | 200 m | 21.81 |
| 2nd | 400 m | 48.28 | |||
| World Youth Championships | Debrecen, Hungary | 17th (semis) | 200 m | 21.73 | |
| 4th | Medley relay | 1:52.36 | |||
| 2002 | CAC Junior Championships (U17) | Bridgetown, Barbados | 1st | 200 m | 20.61 CR |
| 1st | 400 m | 47.12 CR | |||
| 1st | 4×100 m relay | 40.95 CR | |||
| 1st | 4×400 m relay | 3:16.61 CR | |||
| CARIFTA Games | Nassau, Bahamas | 1st | 200 m | 21.12 CR | |
| 1st | 400 m | 47.33 CR | |||
| 1st | 4×400 m relay | 3:18.88 CR | |||
| World Junior Championships | Kingston, Jamaica | 1st | 200 m | 20.61 | |
| 2nd | 4×100 m relay | 39.15 NJR | |||
| 2nd | 4×400 m relay | 3:04.06 NJR | |||
| 2003 | CARIFTA Games | Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago | 1st | 200 m | 20.43 CR |
| 1st | 400 m | 46.35 CR | |||
| 1st | 4×100 m relay | 39.43 CR | |||
| 1st | 4×400 m relay | 3:09.70 | |||
| World Youth Championships | Sherbrooke, Canada | 1st | 200 m | 20.40 | |
| DNS (semis) | 400 m | ||||
| DQ (semis) | Medley relay | ||||
| Pan American Junior Championships | Bridgetown, Barbados | 1st | 200 m | 20.13 WYB | |
| 2nd | 4×100 m relay | 39.40 | |||
| 2004 | CARIFTA Games | Hamilton, Bermuda | 1st | 200 m | 19.93 WJR |
| 1st | 4×100 m relay | 39.48 | |||
| 1st | 4×400 m relay | 3:12.00 | |||
| Olympic Games | Athens, Greece | 40th (heats) | 200 m | 21.05 | |
| 2005 | CAC Championships | Nassau, Bahamas | 1st | 200 m | 20.03 |
| World Championships | Helsinki, Finland | 8th | 200 m | 26.27 | |
| 2006 | World Athletics Final | Stuttgart, Germany | 3rd | 200 m | 20.10 |
| IAAF World Cup | Athens, Greece | 2nd | 200 m | 19.96 | |
| 2007 | World Championships | Osaka, Japan | 2nd | 200 m | 19.91 |
| 2nd | 4×100 m relay | 37.89 | |||
| 2008 | Olympic Games | Beijing, China | 1st | 100 m | 9.69 WR OR |
| 1st | 200 m | 19.30 WR OR | |||
| DQ | 4×100 m relay | Teammate doping[341] | |||
| 2009 | World Championships | Berlin, Germany | 1st | 100 m | 9.58 WR CR |
| 1st | 200 m | 19.19 WR CR | |||
| 1st | 4×100 m relay | 37.31 CR | |||
| World Athletics Final | Thessaloniki, Greece | 1st | 200 m | 19.68 =CR | |
| 2011 | World Championships | Daegu, South Korea | DQ | 100 m | False start |
| 1st | 200 m | 19.40 WL | |||
| 1st | 4×100 m relay | 37.04 WR CR | |||
| 2012 | Olympic Games | London, United Kingdom | 1st | 100 m | 9.63 OR |
| 1st | 200 m | 19.32 WL | |||
| 1st | 4×100 m relay | 36.84 WR | |||
| 2013 | World Championships | Moscow, Russia | 1st | 100 m | 9.77 WL |
| 1st | 200 m | 19.66 WL | |||
| 1st | 4×100 m relay | 37.36 | |||
| 2014 | Commonwealth Games | Glasgow, United Kingdom | 1st | 4×100 m relay | 37.58 GR |
| 2015 | World Relays | Nassau, Bahamas | 2nd | 4×100 m relay | 37.68 |
| World Championships | Beijing, China | 1st | 100 m | 9.79 | |
| 1st | 200 m | 19.55 WL | |||
| 1st | 4×100 m relay | 37.36 WL | |||
| 2016 | Olympic Games | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 1st | 100 m | 9.81 |
| 1st | 200 m | 19.78 | |||
| 1st | 4×100 m relay | 37.27 | |||
| 2017 | World Championships | London, United Kingdom | 3rd | 100 m | 9.95 |
| DNF | 4×100 m relay | Injury |
National titles
- Jamaican Athletics Championships
- 100 m: 2008, 2009, 2013
- 200 m: 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009
Circuit wins
Usain Bolt: ‘I would have run under 9.5 seconds with super spikes’
The Jamaican legend on the importance of Black Lives Matter, his 800m challenge and lessons of parenthood
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The fastest man in history is pondering just how much more destructive he could have been in the super spikes that have swung a wrecking ball at so many world records. Briefly, there is a battle between Usain Bolt the diplomat and Usain Bolt the competitor. The competitor wins. “Me and a friend were talking about this the other day,” he says. “And I was like, ‘should I be upset?’ Because I know over the years everyone has tried to make spikes different and better but …”
Bolt stresses he is not worried about the current crop shredding his 100m world record of 9.58sec or his 200m best of 19.19sec. Yet he sounds uneasy about where the arms race in shoe technology will lead. “How can I argue if World Athletics decide that it’s legal? I can’t do anything about it. The rules are the rules. I don’t think I’ll be fully happy, but it’s just one of those things.”
He wants to make one thing absolutely clear: he would have gone a whole lot faster in the new wave of super spikes – which feature a superlight, energy-returning foam and are said to be worth at least a tenth of a second over 100m. He is just not sure by how much. “We have guessed and we have talked about it, but I don’t know for sure,” he says. “But definitely much faster. Below 9.5 seconds for sure. Without a doubt.”
It is a punchy statement, but the greatest and most popular athlete of his generation is only just getting started. When asked about Britain’s Adam Gemili’s pledge to take a knee on the podium at the Olympics in support of Black Lives Matter he doesn’t procrastinate or play the politician. “If you believe in something, then you should do it. It’s something that we need to make the world aware of, what’s going on with racism.”
While the International Olympic Committee recently reiterated that protests on the field of play and the podium are banned Bolt suggests they are swimming against the tide. “I’ve seen it big in football now. If a track athlete decides to do it, they should be able to voice their opinion.”
It is rare for Bolt to grant an exclusive interview with a British newspaper and rarer still to hear him so reflective on so many subjects, including fame and falling short. Such sentiments are not usually associated with someone who won 134 of his 146 races between 2008 and 2017, winning eight Olympic gold medals and 11 world titles along the way. But when Bolt looks back at his career he believes he was capable of winning 200m gold at the 2004 Athens Olympics, when he was 17.
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It may sound preposterous, but Bolt makes his case with the thoroughness of a Harvard law professor. He believes people forget that, as a 16-year-old, he ran 20.13sec to finish 2003 ranked ninth in the world. But after moving to Kingston, and discovering Burger King and nightclubs, he did not always want to train. That, and a subsequent injury, meant he didn’t emerge out of the heats in Athens.
“In 2003 I was running faster than almost everybody,” he says. “If I had run in the world championships that year I would have probably medalled. And if I’d continued on that road, I would have run 19 seconds earlier in my career, so for sure I could have won gold in Athens if I’d dedicated myself more.”
“But it was tough for me because even in high school I was famous. Everyone knew who I was in Jamaica. And I didn’t have somebody who had already been through it to say: ‘You have to take this seriously, because this is what you could do.’ It was just my coach telling me to train hard.
“That’s why I try to talk to the younger athletes now and explain to them ‘get serious early man’. Because the possibilities are endless.”
There is a second confession. After Bolt’s career ended with him tumbling to the track after tearing his hamstring during the 2017 world championships in London, he was twice tempted to make a comeback. “It was something I thought about in the first and second year after I retired,” he says. “I even went to my coach. But he was like, ‘It’s going to be harder than before – coming back is not going to be a cakewalk.’
“When I look back I have no regrets. I did extremely well in my career. True, it didn’t end on the greatest note but the legacy I left is wonderful.”
For years Bolt has been asked whether he will run again. Until now the answer has always been no. But on 13 July he will return to the track over 800m, a distance he has never run professionally, in a promotion for the US firm CarMax. The challenge, which will be streamed live on Bolt’s Facebook page, is lighthearted – can he do two laps of his home track in Kingston quicker than a CarMax customer receives a live online appraisal offer, a process that typically takes under two minutes? – but he says he is taking it seriously.
“I train every day of the week. I still do a lot of cardio. And I’m on my Peleton too. Now I just need to sharpen up at the track and get my lung capacity up.”
You do look in shape, I say. He laughs. “I have tried to stay fit because my friends told me that when I retired I would get fat and I was like ‘no way’. So I can’t let myself go when they have bet me it will happen in the next six to eight years. For me, it’s a pride thing. I’m not going to let them win. I’m not going to give them the satisfaction.”
So how fast could he run 800m? “My personal best is around 2:05, but when I put my spikes on I reckon I can take five seconds off.”
Given he is only 34, could he yet be tempted to race properly again? “No, no, definitely not. This is just a challenge. Even now, I need something to challenge myself.”
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For the past three Olympics, Bolt has been the closest thing sport has had to a religious experience. Even the mere mention of his name would create a wall of sound at the stadiums in Beijing, London and Rio, while his familiar burst of unanswerable speed and joy somehow always seemed to make jaws drop and smile at the same time. Bolt acknowledges that Tokyo will be a very different and difficult experience for athletes trapped in the bubble, as well as the few spectators permitted. But he believes a combination of a fast track and hot conditions will lead to spectacular performances.
Unsurprisingly, it is the 100m and 200m that excites him the most, but his answer comes with a twist. “The women’s finals will be without a doubt more interesting,” he says. “That’s what I’m looking forward to the most. The women have really stepped up and they’ve led the way for a few years now.”
He talks about the protagonists with a coach’s eye, noting how the Jamaican favourite Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce has changed her stride pattern to make herself faster and how Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith looks far stronger than when she won 200m gold at the 2019 world championships.
“Dina has already proven herself to be one of top athletes in the world,” Bolt says. “But she keeps pushing to be the best and to beat the best. You see she puts in the work. She has the dedication. If a conversation is happening about who is going to win Olympic gold, she’s a part of it.”
But when asked who he would put his money on for the 100m, he opts for his compatriot. “Shelly‑Ann has the edge because of her experience, as long as she just doesn’t put too much pressure on herself. But Dina is her closest challenger.”
Before Covid struck, Bolt had intended to go to Tokyo as a fan, watching as many sports as possible – with fencing particularly on his bucket list. Instead, he will be in Kingston, watching while playing with his three children, Olympia Lightning Bolt, who turned one in May, and two-month-old twins Thunder Bolt and Saint Leo Bolt. He would love them to go into sports but says that a fourth child, which could create an unbeatable mixed 4x400m relay team, is not going to happen.
When asked what parenthood has taught him most, Bolt instantly replies “patience”. That could turn out to be good news for track and field. For while most of his current attention is on a fledgling music career, he hints he may yet have unfinished business with the sport he dominated for so long.
“In the past my biggest problem was being patient with athletes,” he says. “But when you have kids you have to be a lot more patient. That has made me think about coaching. I have sat with my coach and started picking his brain about different things – how he writes his programme and stuff like that – so you never know. Maybe in the future I will take on the challenge. Let’s see what happens.”
![[141]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usain_Bolt#cite_note-m_100_f_1.jpg-143){kind=link}
