London - Usain Bolt hit out at ‘disrespectful’ people suggesting he had lost his magic on the track.
The Jamaican competed just three times in 2014 because of a persistent hamstring and foot problem, which led some to doubt whether he could recapture the form he showed when setting 100 metres and 200m world records in 2009 - and winning an Olympic sprint double for a second time at London 2012.
But at the IAAF World Relays in Bahamas, as he prepares to make his season debut, with the exception of an exhibition run on Brazil’s Copacabana beach in April, Bolt’s message - delivered in his Jamaican lilt - was not to worry.
‘I can get back to that,’ he said, ‘For me, I was never gone. It was just that I had a bad season like any athlete and lost the form I need to get back. A lot of people said “Bolt was gone” but I was never gone. I need to get back in shape and I’ll be all right.
‘I definitely think people have been disrespectful. But I’m going to keep my calm, not be aggressive and be nice to everybody. But they’ll push the wrong button one day and we’ll see what happens.’
Bolt seemed relaxed as he swaggered into the back of a press conference room, the collar of his Team Jamaica polo shirt upturned, immediately drawing the attention of everybody there. He sat quietly at one side playing on his phone for 20 minutes, his entourage of three making a mockery of other superstars who have hundreds of hangers-on.
The competitors are hosted in the sprawling 2,300-room Atlantis hotel on Bahamas’ Paradise Island with its four peach-colour towers, and waterpark complete with slide running through a shark tank. It is like Disneyland for adults, so it is fitting the event should have its own good-versus-evil narrative.
Bolt is the hero in this tale, the charismatic and popular champion. American Justin Gatlin is the villain, an unrepentant double drugs cheat who seems likely to be the biggest obstacle to the Jamaican achieving a third sprint double at the World Championships in Beijing this summer.
Bolt recently said Tyson Gay’s one-year ban after the American tested positive for anabolic steroids in 2013 was ‘the stupidest thing (he) ever heard’, suggesting a lifetime ban would have been more appropriate.
So what does he think of Gatlin, a man twice banned for positive drugs tests - most recently for four years in 2006 - running quicker than ever before at the age of 33? His answer may surprise.
‘I think Tyson’s ban was unfair to the sport and sent the wrong message,’ said Bolt, ‘When it comes to Justin Gatlin I think he got his ban and he served it so for me it’s not an issue. He’s a great competitor.
‘He’s one of those guys that doesn’t normally say a lot, so for me he makes the sport interesting. It will be interesting to race against him because he’s been saying a lot more recently.’
Gatlin dominated the sprints in Bolt’s absence last year, running 100m and 200m personal bests at 9.77sec and 19.68sec respectively, to top the world rankings in both.
Both are scheduled to compete in the 4x100m and 4x200m in Nassau. It is likely to be the only time the two will clash before the World Championships in August.
‘I never worry about one-off runs because those are stepping stones to the major championships,’ insisted Bolt. ‘Going to Beijing I’ve set a standard for myself so I need to go there and step it up. I think I can do the triple (100m, 200m and 4x100m gold) there but it is about working hard on staying injury-free.
‘It’s all about running and the more races I get the better and quicker I’ll get. I’m feeling good, my coach is pleased with my progress in training. I want to break the meet records and even the world record in China.’
Reflecting on last year, where the highlight was a 4x100m Commonwealth Games, Bolt said he missed the heat of competition rather than the bright lights of fame. ‘Just not running was the most frustrating part, not being out of the spotlight. The hard part is to work hard and get back to the point where I once was.’
Daily Mail