NEARING FINISH LINE: Usain Bolt confirms Rio Olympics will be his last show
Athletics
By
AFP
| Mar 23, 2016
Usain Bolt has confirmed this year’s Olympics will be his last, snuffing out the possibility of extending his career to the 2020 games in Tokyo.
The Jamaican sprint king had raised the prospect of prolonging his Olympic career in January after revealing that his coach Glen Mills had suggested his fitness would carry him through to Japan.
However, Bolt told AFP subsidiary SID in an interview that the curtain would come down on his Olympics career in this year’s games in Rio de Janeiro, where he is targeting three more gold medals.
“It’ll definitely be my last Olympics,” Bolt said. “It’s going to be hard to go four more years for me, to keep the motivation that I want, especially if I accomplish what I want in Rio.
“It’s going to be hard to keep the motivation to go on for four more years so it’ll definitely be my last one.”
Bolt, who already has six gold medals from his stunning performances in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, has repeatedly said he plans to hang up his spikes for good after the 2017 World Championships in London.
He hopes to have taken his tally to nine golds by the time competition in Rio has concluded in August.
“My biggest dream at the Olympics is to win three gold medals again. That’s my focus, that’s what I want. And that’s what I’m aiming for because that’s my goal and that’s my dream,” Bolt said.
Bolt, meanwhile reiterated his desire to make more record-breaking history before he retires, saying that he is determined to become the first man to go below 19 seconds for the 200 metres.
“I’ve said the only big thing, big time I want to run is the 200 metres,” said Bolt, who holds the world record of 19.19seconds for the 200m, set in Berlin in 2009.
“I’d love to try to go sub-19. That’s the only thing I would really, really want because that’s one of my goals. I’ve always talked about and always wanted it so, that’s something I look forward to.” —AFP