LONDON: Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, who is ‘relaxed’ as he prepares to retire after the 2017 world championships in London, has admitted that he struggled to motivate himself to train before the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Bolt, who won individual gold medals in the 100m and 200m in the prestigious quadrennial event before rounding it off by anchoring his country to the 4x100m title, says the pressure is off as he approaches his final season on the track.
“The workload I had leading up to the Olympics and even at the 2015 world championships meant there was so much pressure and stress that it just wasn’t fun anymore,” Bolt was quoted as saying by the Guardian.
The Jamaican also confessed he had sometimes struggled to get out of bed before rediscovering his groove in training.
“But now the pressure is gone I’m much more relaxed and happy to go to training because I know it’s not going to be so intense anymore,” he added.
Bolt, the nine-time Olympic champion, who would run only the 100m at the world championships in London, has warned his younger rivals such as the Canadian Andre De Grasse, who took silver in the 200m in Rio.
“I never want to lose,” he said. “Even in a simple board game. I’m always going to be prepared, no matter how much I relax I am still a competitor. I’m still never going to lose.”
Bolt is widely considered as the greatest sprinter of all-time and is the first man to hold both the 100m and 200m records as well as the record being a part of the 4x100m relay. The Jamaican is also the reigning world and Olympic champion.