Bolt: ‘I’m trying to be a legend’

Ostrava, Czech Republic – Usain Bolt didn’t mince words when he was asked what he hoped to accomplish before his career on the track concluded.

“I’m trying to be a legend,” he said plainly. “So I’m working on being the greatest athlete ever.”

It wasn’t a boastful or off the cuff remark by the Jamaican, who at just 22 is already a triple Olympic champion and the world’s fastest man. Rather, it was a goal expressed by a man who doesn’t at all take the term “legend” lightly, and who knows that he has quite a few things left to accomplish before that superlative becomes attached to his name.

“Just being on top every year, and just doing great things,” he said, speaking with the media on the eve of his third appearance at the Golden Spike Grand Prix in this sprawling eastern Czech city.

“To break the world record in the 400 would help,” he added with a smile. “I’m not sure about that one yet, tough. Just staying on top, staying number one, and doing great things.”

His 100m outing on Wednesday (17) will be his third of the season, and his last before the upcoming Jamaican championships and selection trials for the 12th IAAF World Championships the weekend after next. He said he’s eager for a solid follow-up to his 10.00 performance from Toronto five days ago.

“I wouldn’t say ‘disappointed’,” he said of his race assessment. “It was really, really wet. And we had two false starts so it kind of threw me off a little bit. But as I said, we have good days and we have bad days. So I guess that’s down for one of my bad days.”

He conceded that he’s not nearly in the same shape as he was 12 months ago, when he ended the month of May as the 100m World record holder. His commitments to sponsors along with a slew of public appearances post-Beijing have had an effect on his preparations. But he’s not worried that his ultimate aims for the season won’t be achieved.

“I’m not in the same shape as I was this time last year, but I have more time,” he said. “My main aim is always the championships, so that’s what I’m working towards. So it’s going to take a bit of time.”

“As the Olympic champion I’ve been busy with sponsor commitments,” he said. “Then I had my (automobile) accident. It kind of threw me off in training, but I’m really focused and working hard to get where I was last season.”

“I have the trials coming up and a few more races before Berlin, so I should be in great shape by the world championships.”

More immediately, he’s aiming for “a good time” on the fast Ostrava track. When pressed to be more specific, “9.8 would be good, definitely,” he said.

Looking ahead to Berlin where he plans to double in the 100 and 200m, Bolt said he doesn’t necessarily anticipate a rerun of his Beijing World record runs.

“The Olympics was just something special,” he said. “I don’t think I’ll need to break any world records to win.”

But he doesn’t - and won’t – take any of his competitors for granted. “Like I said, we all have good days and bad days, and I take everyone seriously. I don’t look at myself as a superior athlete. I take even the slowest guy in my race very seriously because you never know if that day just may be his day.”