Usain Bolt is disappointed with how Jamaican men’s sprinting has developed since he retired. The fastest man alive also predicts his compatriots will find it tough at the Tokyo Olympics after his glorious domination over the last decade.
With Bolt leading the way, Jamaica won all nine men’s track sprint finals in Beijing, London and Rio — although they later lost their 2008 relay gold medals after Nesta Carter failed a drug test. The triple 100m and 200m Olympic champion Bolt says it is heartbreaking to see the country fall behind in the sprinting world.
“I felt like we had a good crop of (male) athletes for the last couple of Olympics, so for me, it really bothers me to know that this is where we are right now, where most of the world is ahead of us,” he said during an interview with Reuters.
“Going into the men’s, it’s going to be tough … I’m just disappointed because I think we do have the talent, it’s just to harvest it and people to take the training seriously and get it done,” Bolt added.
The Tokyo Olympics begin this Friday. Bolt predicts that the Jamaican women will be the ones to score most of the medals for the country. He says he is also confident that Jamaican Tajay Gayle, the current world Champion in the Long Jump, will also score a gold medal.
Leading Jamaica’s Olympic team this year is the fastest woman alive, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who will be competing in her final Olympics. Usain Bolt said he believes that no female athlete will be able to beat her in the women’s 100 meters.
“I hope she doesn’t put too much pressure on herself going in because she’s in shape, she’s in form, all she has to do is go out there and execute and it shouldn’t be a problem,” he said.
He also said he would be honored to share the achievement of three Olympic sprint gold medals with Fraser-Pryce.
The Olympics will run from July 23rd to August 8. The sprinting events will begin on July 30th.
