Usain Bolt is feeling no pressure in retirement, confident his best times can remain world records for decades.
The only sprinter to capture the 100- and 200-metre track titles at three consecutive Olympics, Bolt retired last month after the world championships in London. He holds the world record of 9.58 seconds in the 100 and 19.19 in the 200 — both set in Berlin in 2009.
He holds the world record of 9.58 seconds in the 100 and 19.19 in the 200 — both set in Berlin in 2009.
“I think [they’re] going to last a while,” Bolt said during a promotional event in Japan on Tuesday.
“I think our era with Yohan Blake, Justin Gatlin and Asafa Powell and all these guys was the best era of athletes. If it was going to be broken, it would have been broken in this era, so I think I have at least 15 to 20 more years.”
Bolt’s farewell major meet did not go to plan in London.
After a surprising third-place finish in the 100 behind Americans Gatlin and Christian Coleman, Bolt’s last race ended in the anguish of an injured hamstring while anchoring Jamaica’s 4×100-metre relay team.
Gatlin, often cast as the villain during Bolt’s long dominance, said he thinks his rival will be back. But Bolt brushed off that notion.
