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Photography: Fred Merz
to bother me but over time, I’ve learnt that people want me to run fast, to win and to continue doing great, which is the same thing I want.” He’s not in the slightest bit superstitious – “Yohan Blake doesn’t change his gear through the whole championship and I’m, like, ‘I don’t get it? Why?!’ If you’re confident in your talent, there’s no reason to be superstitious about anything” – and he is a natural entertainer. “When I go to a different country, I think about what people like there, so I can make it fun for the crowd. I live for the crowd; it’s what makes me enjoy performing and going out there and going fast.” Is there a human limit to how fast the 100m can be run? “Maybe one day. Right now there is room for improvement!” Everyone laughs; Usain has charmed us all. “I just want to keep setting goals for myself and keep breaking those goals”, he continues, more serious now. “I want
to go for sub-19 [seconds in the 200m]; that’s going to be one of toughest goals but I want to get it done before I retire. I also want defend my titles again in Rio – for me that’ll put me on a different level, because no one has ever [won gold in the 100m and 200m in three consecutive Olympics] before. “People talk about Muhammad Ali and Pelé and Maradona. I want to be in that group when I retire. When people are talking about sport in general, my name should be mentioned. I want people to say ‘Usain Bolt was one of the greatest athletes to ever grace the track’. That’s what I want and that’s what I’m going to go for. If you want something in life you’ve got to work for it.” With his track record to date (pardon the pun), I have no doubt that the name Usain Bolt is going to have its place in the record books for centuries to come, and deservedly so. With thanks to Hublot, hublot.com
THE CITY MAGAZINE | July 2015
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