Staff Writer – Archi
Sports news. Sprint great Usain Bolt Bolt revealed he was aiming for a landmark ‘triple-triple’ by winning three more golds in Rio next year.
The Jamaican is two-thirds of the way towards his goal, having triumphed in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay events at the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Games. He also revealed a desire to break the 200m world record.
Bolt set the record of 19.19 seconds in 2009, and also set the 100 record of 9.58 in the same year. He said that breaking his own 200-metre record is one of his biggest goals, adding that it is actually to run under 19 seconds.
The six-time Olympic gold-medalist said he thinks this season it would be hard to do, but added that the key thing is trying to stay injury free so he can go into the Olympic season in the best shape that he can be.
The Jamaican gave a warning to his rivals ahead of next year’s Rio Olympics by declaring he can beat anybody, irrespective of their form.
Bolt, who was in Rio to run an exhibition race over the weekend, was asked about the threat posed by in-form US sprinter Justin Gatlin.
“They are all top-level athletes and I respect them all, but I don’t think about their times because I know that when I’m in top form, I’m difficult to beat,” Bolt said on Friday.
The 28-year-old said he was in better shape now than at the same time last year. But he stopped short of saying he could break his own world record of 9.58 seconds at the Brazilian Jockey Club.
Usain Bolt. Photo courtesy talksport.com
“I’m feeling good, better than I did last year, but I’m not focused on times at the moment. I can only say that I will try to run (100m) in less than 10 seconds,” he said.
A friend of Brazil football captain Neymar, Bolt was asked about Brazil’s 1-7 World Cup semifinal defeat to Germany last July.
“I know Neymar is a fan of mine and I am a fan of his too, and yes I did see the 7-1. I didn’t want to talk about this but now you have asked me… it was a shock. Not only for me or for Brazil but for the whole sporting world,” he said.
“Everyone thinks of Brazil as a powerhouse of football. But, as an athlete, I know that these kinds of things can happen to anybody.”
