Transcription
I was so nervous that that's the one time that nerves got to me to the point where I'm shaking. All that matters is that when we line up and that gun goes, you better be ready.
Breath smashing the world, unbelievable. Can we talk then about this concept of hard work? Everybody who's a professional has talent. The one who works the hardest on their talent will be the best. But if you get into your head, that's when you make mistakes.
Am I going to start well? Am I ready? My biggest competitor was Justin Gatlin. He does this thing where he walks back and forth. There's no way you're going to intimidate me. The moment when the starter says, "On your marks," you see me take a deep breath, and then I try to clear my mind and listen.
It was my whole life in high performance. My whole life. I never said it cannot be done. You have to learn how to lose before you can learn how to win. So, which is stronger then: a desire to win or a fear of losing?
Wow. This episode is supported by Hu. Ladies and gentlemen, please put your hands together and welcome to the stage at IFS Unleashed, Usain Bolt. [Applause]
Man, nice to see you. Take a seat. Just a nice casual conversation with two and a half thousand friends. How are you?
I'm good, I'm good. It's nice to have you with us. So, welcome to IFS Unleashed. Welcome to high performance. We're having a conversation in an Olympic year. We all enjoyed what happened in Paris a few weeks ago. Did you go? Did you go and watch the action?
No, I was supposed to go with my family, but I injured myself. I was playing a charity football match for UNICEF and I ruptured my... so I actually just started walking okay again. So, I didn't get to go, but I watched on TV.
And I guess you could have gone, right, if you wanted to?
Yeah, I didn't want to go on crutches. It's my first time going without competing, so it would look weird. Every time you see me on TV, I'm on crutches like this. So, I was like, you know what, let me just stay home.
And be honest, Usain, were you pleased that nobody broke your world records?
I wasn't worried, I would say. I could say, but it's going to take a while. But I'm always happy that it stays intact.
Let's talk then about injuries and the perception of you. You know, for so many years, all of us watched you and we saw you walk out at the start of the race and thought, "Oh, there's Usain. He's going to win the gold medal yet again." So, is it a strange position for you to be in when you're considering not even going to an Olympics because of the perception of you being on crutches or hobbling? I saw you limping very slightly as you came out today.
Yeah, for me, injuries are a part of sports in general. I think in any sport, you have to understand that if you push your body because you want to be the best, at times you might overdo it, or at times competing, you might get injuries. So, it's a part of the sport. But I'm happy it happened to me now when I'm retired because I know a lot of footballers that have gotten this injury and it has ended their career. So, for me, I'm happy that it happened at the end.
And how did you make the decision to eventually walk away from the sport?
For me, at the start of my career, I made an end goal. When I started out, I said, "This is what I want to achieve." My biggest goal was to actually win three Olympics back to back. That was my main goal and that was my target. So, when I actually got to that target, for me, it was like a hard road of like 10 to 12 years of continuous work. So, for me, it was like, "Yes, this is it." I had gotten to my goal, and that was it for me.
I'm very interested in this whole idea of goal setting. So, what was it about the three Olympics that was the thing for you? Was it because you'd watched other athletes and were inspired?
I think I wanted to set myself apart from everyone because growing up, I watched Michael Johnson. I'm a massive fan of Muhammad Ali. If you want to be great or you want to be a legend or if you want to stand out, you have to do something that no one has ever done before. For me, I think Carl Lewis had won twice already back-to-back Olympics. So, for me, how could I set myself apart from everyone? So people would say, "You know what? He has done this." And in years to come, if somebody was to be greater than me, they would have to actually do four Olympics and break world records. So, I tried to set the bar so high that it probably would never be broken. That was my main goal, and I got it. So cheers to me! [Laughter]
I love it. So you achieved the incredible, but there's a great quote from Roger Federer who once said that athletes die twice. The second time is when they die for real; the first time is when they retire. I'm wondering how, after you achieved that, did you mentally cope with walking away from the sport?
For me, mentally, I was ready to go. But I think after you retire and then you start watching the sport, that's when it becomes a little bit hard. But I was ready to go because I had accomplished. I had seen so many athletes that tried to rekindle their greatness after they retired. You're at home and you're watching and you're itching to go back.
I must give it up to my coach. My coach actually helped me not to go back because there was once where I was like, "Coach, I think I should start running again." And he goes, "No." He said this to me when I told him that I was going to retire. He said, "Listen, when you retire, that's it. We're not going to do any comeback tour. This is it."
So, I remember when we sat down and we were talking, and he was like, "No, we're not going to do this." It's painful to sit and watch, especially because the male athletes weren't dominating for Jamaica. I sit and watch us losing, and I was itching to go back to perform for my country.
So how long after you retired did you get that feeling?
Two years. It was two years in, and I was like, "You know what? I think I can go back into the sport." And he was like, "No."
And did you go out on the track and do anything, or did you pick up the phone to him first?
I was still working out because I would still go to the track to see him and hang out and watch all the athletes compete and train. So I would be there, and I still had my track shoes on sometimes. I would still do a small workout, but he was like, "No." He told me, "I'm not going to allow you to come back because the drive that you had while you were aiming towards your goal is not the same drive you will come back into the sport with, and that would be a problem."
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Can we talk about drive? I think this is a really interesting thing for us to discuss because it's one thing saying to yourself, "I'm going to do three Olympic Games in my career." It's a very different thing actually making it happen.
Yeah, it's true. So when did you first have this understanding that maybe you didn't think like everybody else? You weren't just going to get a job and have a career?
I think when I started out, I didn't understand the concept of being great, you know what I mean? Because I was young when I started out. I was 15 when I won the World Juniors. I was really young; I was really talented. So I didn't have to work as hard. It was just talent. So I was winning and winning and winning.
I remember when I got to the professional level now, and I felt like it was just going to be easy. I got onto the stage, and I would go to meets, and I would lose. I was like, "This is strange. This is new," you know what I mean? So it was something that took me a while to understand.
Then when I started working with Coach Mills, he kind of sat me down and explained that, "Listen, everybody who's a professional has talent. So it's who works the hardest on their talent that will be the best." That's when I kind of understood that you can't get to the top with just talent alone. You need work, you need sacrifice, you have to be dedicated.
It took me time, but I learned along the way, and I got better over time.
I'm interested in that mentality to do that because I can imagine having had a linear path of being successful as a junior and going into it, that must have come as a bit of a dent to the ego.
Yeah, definitely. For me, because I was beating the seniors when I was 17. I was beating the seniors in Jamaica. I was running faster than all the seniors in Jamaica, so I was feeling like the man. I was like, "Yeah, I'm the man." And it was just mainly talent.
But when you're traveling now and then you're on the track circuit with all the Americans and people from England, everywhere in the world, and then you find yourself in fourth position, it kind of dampens your ego a little bit. But it helped because when you're this high and you kind of get cut down to a lower side, you start asking yourself questions and trying to figure out, "What am I doing wrong? What do I need to do?"
So for me, it took that and a lot of help from my coach to really get me on the right path and then slowly to the top.
Can we talk then about this concept of hard work? I imagine when he first said it to you, was there a little bit of your head going, "Well, I'm brilliant at what I do"?
Right. I think my idea of hard work and my coach's idea of hard work were miles apart, you know what I mean? Because moving from just being talented and working hard and then really working hard, it's totally different.
When I started working with my coach, it was in 2005 when I really started working with him. For me, I was like, "I'm doing great," you know what I mean? But I would win some, but I would lose some.
I think in '07 was when it really dawned on me that, "Listen, you're not working hard enough. You need to work even harder."
What happened then?
It was the World Championship in Osaka. I felt like I was in great shape. I was like, "Yeah, I'm going to do good. I'm going to win." And I came second. I was like, "Why?" You know what I mean?
I went to my coach. I was like, "I really tried. I really, really worked." And he goes, "No, you didn't work hard. You didn't go to the gym every day. You missed a few days." He would tell me, "You missed a couple of days throughout the year, and it adds up to a month or it adds up to six weeks."
Then I really sat down and looked back and said, "You know what? It's true." I was like, "You know, let me give 100% to this cause. I really want to be the best. I really want to win." So, you know what? Let me really work at this and give my all and listen to exactly what he said.
That was the next year, which is Beijing. So you can see the difference from one year just by working as hard as I needed to.
So can you give us an idea then of what Coach Mills defined as hard work? For those of us outside of the world of athletics.
For me, it's just consistency. I think consistency is everything. I think the problem with me the year before was I would train for two weeks, three weeks, but then I would want to go out and hang out with my friends, so I would take a week off.
In my mind, that wouldn't affect me, but it does because you break the pattern and you break the consistency of work. So that was it. And then I didn't go to the gym to get stronger. I was very slim. You can see the difference in one year. I changed. I was very slim, no muscles.
So it's all about consistency and strength for me because I didn't understand that they go together. The next year, when I really consistently trained and was always at training, I never missed days unless I was sick. Some days, even when I was sick, my coach would say, "No, you'll be fine. A little bit of running will help you."
So something that we worked on that year.
So what percentage then would you say of that '08 performance, when you first crept into the world's consciousness, how much of it was down to your physical gifts and how much of it was down to the mental strength that you had?
I think overall, at the start for me, I think it was like strength-wise, it was like 80/20 because mentally with me, I connect my physical strength or my mental strength. If I'm in good shape, I'm in no worries. I'm not worried because I know how talented I am and I know how good I am. So I know if I'm in good shape, I'm going to win.
So it never bothered me mentally. I know as long as I go there and I execute, I'll be fine. So for me, it was mostly physical work that I did to catch up to the other guys and to surpass them that really mattered.
So we've asked that question of a lot of athletes. Dame Kelly Holmes told us that she thought the success in her career was 80% mental, 20% physical. I asked the question of the great Michael Johnson, and he went 100% and 100%.
He's a good runner, but he's not great at maths, right? But I do think we can't discount the mental side of this game as well. I mean, 2004, right, was a problem for you.
Yeah. For those that don't know, just tell us the story of '04.
Well, '04, for me, that was my first Olympics. If you didn't follow my career, a lot of people did not know that I went to the Olympics in Athens. For me, I was going into that season okay, and I thought I was ready as always because of my talent. I was like, "Yo, I'm doing well." I did well at the Jamaican trials, and then you get to the Olympics, and you meet up with all these guys that have been training all year round and been dedicated to their craft.
I didn't even make it out of the first round. The top four would have made it to the next round. I came fifth, so I did not make it. For me, that was a little bit of a wake-up call to say, "Listen, you have a long way to go." Because if you can't make it out of the first round at the Olympics, and there's three more rounds, that shows how far behind I was. I felt like I was really talented at the time.
The high-performance podcast exists for absolute truth and honesty and to give people like you a platform that they don't normally have. Like, I've not really heard you talk like this before. Do you have many public conversations like this?
No, sometimes you do not talk about... No one wants to talk about their failures as much. Growing up, I over the years, I understand that that's what helped me to get better. Because if you can be truthful to yourself, if it's one thing I've learned, if you can be truthful to yourself, that's how you get better.
Because a lot of people like to point fingers at others and say, "Oh, it's because of him I didn't do so well. It's because of her." They try to find different avenues to say instead of looking at themselves and saying, "You know what? It's on me. I can do better in this area and that area and be a better person."
So that's something that I think helped my career to really kickstart, to know that, "Listen, this is all on me. I didn't do this. I needed to work hard. I felt like it was easy." So it's something that really helped me to get better over the years.
And look, we are going to talk about the success. There was a lot of it, and it's a great thing to discuss. What surprised me from this conversation is that in 2004, you got a kind of a proper slap across the face in Athens, right? Yet it was not until 2007 that the penny dropped that hard work needs to come into the game here.
So I'm so interested in why '04 didn't do that for you.
Now, because I was still young. You have to understand, I was still young, and I was still like saying, "Oh, because I got injured in the season a little bit." You know, you're telling yourself, and it comes back to where you start to lie to yourself. I was saying, "You know what? I got injured early in the season, so maybe that's why I didn't make it. So I'll be fine next season." You know what I mean?
Then next season comes, and it's the same thing, and then you start saying, "Maybe it's not." And then you start saying, "All right, if I do this amount of work, maybe I'll get better." Then you lose again, and you're like, "Ah." So you start trying to figure it out.
It took me time, but it came together at the right time.
You've spoken about Glenn Mills, who's regarded as one of the greatest coaches in athletics history. Could you share with us just one of the great pieces of advice that he passed on to you?
For me, I remember at the start when we started working together, he said something to me. He said, "Until you figure this out, you will get better." He said to me, "You have to learn how to lose before you can learn how to win."
It took me two years to actually figure out exactly what he meant by that. That was one of the biggest things that confused me. I was like, "Why would I want to learn how to lose?" You know what I mean?
All it meant is that most people, you have to understand that you will fail. But when you fail, what do you learn from the failure? That's what it pretty much meant.
So when I was losing, then how do I get better? What do I need to do to get better? So every time I lost, I said, "What did I do wrong? What do I need to improve?" That's when over time, I started understanding, "Oh, so when I lose, it gets me better and closer to starting to win."
So that was something that really stuck with me, and I try to explain to people that, "Listen, this is very important. If you can be truthful to yourself when you lose and say, 'All right, I didn't train hard enough. All right, I didn't do research. I didn't sleep well,' so you know, so next time you'll do those things so you can get better and better and better and improve until you get to the top."
Can I ask you about your inner circle? Because I can imagine at that time, it's easy to point the finger of blame at other people. How did you decide who was going to be a part of your inner circle to hold you to account?
For me, to tell you the truth, I kind of lucked out with great people. When I started out, I had different masseuses and different coaches. In '05, when I met Glenn Mills, we kind of just clicked and understood each other. It took us a while to really get smoothly, but we got along great.
My manager, who is now my best friend, we grew up together, so that was easy. I got a masseuse the year just before '08, and my agent, Ricky Sims, I got when I just started track. These were the guys that really were in my corner throughout my whole career.
So they started in the struggle, and we kind of worked our way to the top. It's always important to have a great team, you know what I mean? Somebody you can lean on when you make mistakes or when you need motivation because we had one goal, and we all were working towards that one goal.
For me, that was a massive deal of having a great team because there are times when you're going to feel down, or there are times when you don't want to get out of bed, or there are times when I got injured and I was like, "Oh my God, I'm going through this again." You need people to pick you up and to remind you what you're working towards or the support team in every way.
We'll talk about some of those mental struggles and the true challenge of competing at the top level for a long period of time, but we've kind of arrived here at 2008, right?
Yeah. I would love to know what your mindset was then. You've had the difficult '04, you've had a wake-up call from your coach in '07, and a few months later, it feels to us like maybe a different Usain Bolt is taking to the track in Beijing.
Yeah, definitely. I think '08 was one of the years where it was all or nothing for me. I kind of just went all in. I was like, "You know what? I've never tried this way." You know what I mean? I've never tried working hard in dedication and just focusing on just track and field and just working.
For me in '08, I did everything my coach said.
Just when you say "all or nothing," like if '08 had gone badly, then I think I wouldn't have believed. Well, if somebody says, "If you're doing something wrong all your life," and somebody said, "You know what? Everybody's telling you to work hard, work hard, and you get there." And you go, "Okay, you know what? Let me try this work hard thing." You know what I mean?
Then you work hard, and you didn't get it done, then it would be an issue. So I was like, "You know what? Let me do exactly what the coach says and let's see how it works out."
The moment throughout the whole season, I was running very well. I actually broke the world record before I actually got to the Olympics, so I could see it before it actually happened.
For me, it was just excitement. I was excited to go to the Olympics because I knew I was in good shape, I was running good. I was still nervous because this was my first major thing now, and I was in great shape, you know what I mean? So for me, I was excited to go.
When I got there, it was just all excitement.
So you've just said a word there that surprised me when you said, "I was still nervous."
Yeah. Because Jim L, one of the world's leading sports psychologists, often talks about to get in the zone, part of that is being mentally relaxed and being quite chilled out. A lot of athletes you were competing against have got that very serious game face on, and yet you were going out there smiling, responding to the crowd.
That was just my personality. I think if you follow my career throughout my years, when I was 15, when I won in Jamaica, afterwards I saluted the crowd. I was vibing. The next year I won at World Youth; I was dancing, breakdancing.
So it's something that I've always done throughout my career, you know what I mean? So when I got to the senior level, it didn't change. But people were like, "What are you doing?" Because everybody was serious. I was like, "Yo, I'm just being myself."
Because I remember when I celebrated when I won, people came to me and they were like, "Oh, you're disrespectful." I was like, "How am I disrespectful?"
Did they say that?
Yeah, because I celebrated before the line, and they were like, "You're disrespectful." So I went to the actual athletes, and I was like, "Yo, did you feel disrespected?" And they were like, "No, if we were winning by that far, we would be doing the same thing."
So it was something that was good.
So can I ask you then about those opponents? Do you feel that such a comprehensive victory in that Olympic final changed the way that they saw you?
I definitely think so. I think I really changed the face of track and field. If you watch track and field now, you can see the difference in what I've created by enjoying myself. You can see now everybody's expressing themselves in track and field, and it's much more fun because you see people's personalities. You feel like you know them, and you can enjoy the sport.
So it's something that I'm happy I did because it's good for the sport to just be relaxed. That's something that I've always explained to people: you've already done all this work throughout the year. My coach explained that when you get to the moment, there's nothing else you can do now because you have worked; you have done the work already.
So when you get to the moment, it's all about execution. There's nothing to worry about. It's either you're ready or you're not ready. That's just it. There's nothing you can do in this moment that's going to change.
So that's something that he taught me also: "Listen, when you get to the moment, you'll be fine."
I find it interesting when I think about what you were like before a race. I imagine there were any nerves at all. So were the nerves as you walked up to the block?
I think I had the start when my first year, I think the Olympics at first. I was nervous because this was my first chance to win an Olympic gold medal or to win any medal, you know what I mean? So when I got there, I was like, "I know I'm ready, but I'm still nervous."
Like, I know I'm in the best shape of my life, but is it going to come together now? So when it happened after that, did you tell anyone you were nervous?
No, I wouldn't tell anybody that.
Even your coach?
No, why not?
So I thought you and your coach were so connected.
Yeah, but I know my coach. If I tell my coach, "Coach, you know I'm nervous," he's going to say, "What's wrong with you, kid?" You know what I mean?
I know in my mind it was in good shape, but I think it wasn't overly too much nerves. It was just the fact that it was my first time being in a position to actually win, you know what I mean?
And Jamaica, everybody was like, "Oh my God, this would be our first gold medal in the 100-meter sprint." So it was a big deal. But after I won that race, I think after that, I never really got nervous again.
What are your memories of that race?
For me, I can walk you through all my championship races. It goes quickly, but in my mind, it's very slow.
The gun went, I got a good start. The first five steps, I actually slightly stumbled a little bit, and then my drive phase was good at the time. My biggest competitor was my fellow Jamaican, Asafa Powell, and he always gets a good start.
I remember looking. That's one of my biggest problems running. I always look across and look around. So I looked 30 meters, and I was like, "Okay, I'm in the race." I came out, my transition. I looked again at 50, and I was like, "I'm doing pretty well," you know what I mean?
At 60, 65, I looked across, and I was like, "I'm winning," you know what I mean? I got to 80, and I looked across, and I was like, "Oh my God, I'm going to win."
So I kind of progressed through the race, and that was when I beat my chest, and the rest is history.
So when you look back on the beating the chest, do you regret that? Because you feel like you could have gone even faster?
No, I feel like for me, it was just to win. It was just that moment. Because I had the world record, I was never worried about it. It was just to win this gold medal. That was what really mattered at the time for me.
So I was just excited. The emotion just came out. I didn't plan anything; it was just emotions. You know when you work hard and you finally get what you wanted? I didn't know what to do. I was like, "Oh my God, thank you," and I was just happy.
So it was something that was just all emotion coming out at that time.
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After Beijing, you know, you went from, as you've already said, most people didn't even know you competed in '04 at the Olympics to suddenly being arguably one of the most famous people on the planet.
We talk so often about the notoriety and the success and the trappings of fame and all of those things. I'd love to know, though, from you, the truth about almost overnight global fame—the hidden cost, if you like, of that.
For me, initially, all right, so at the Olympics, we stayed in a village. All the athletes in every sport, we stay in a huge village. To put it in perspective, when I started out, when I got to the village, I could go to the dining hall, I would have food, chat with my friends, we would sit, we would walk around the village.
The day after the 100 meters, I remember walking into the dining hall, and everybody went. Everybody wanted a picture, everybody wanted to touch you. Everybody was like, "What's happening?" You know what I mean?
It was actually my shot put guys and the distance guys who were actually my security guard and had to get me out of the dining room because I could not stay in there. It was like, "What's happening?" You know what I mean?
Because this is different. I'm from the country, you know what I mean? I'm from the rural area. I know everybody in Jamaica knew me, but now on a global level, it was just mind-blowing.
It's fun, but it's not fun, you know what I mean? So it's different aspects that I enjoy, but at the time, you don't get any peace. You can't go outside or somebody or a group of people wanting to touch you, wanting to talk to you, wanting pictures.
So it was hard for me at the start, but I think over the years, I kind of got accustomed to it and figured out how to deal with the situation.
And what's been the biggest thing that that global recognition has given you, and what's been the biggest thing that it's taken from you?
I think one of the biggest things is access. I get to go to all the United games. Glory, glory, United! So I get access—not at the moment, yeah.
Wow, you're just ignoring. Listen, he knows the football team I support. But for me, it was the access. You get to enjoy that. You can call and get to games and restaurants and all this, but your personal life and everything is in the media, and you don't get to enjoy dinner as you want or just to take the kids out.
Like, I have kids now. You can't just go to the park or any parks. You have to be careful. So those are the things that you have to give and take. Over the years, I've understood, and you kind of learn how to move around and what you can do for what you cannot do.
And so I kind of, I'm kind of used to it now, but at the start, it was difficult trying to figure out and maneuver.
And of course, you're also suddenly then dealing with one of the biggest things, I guess, which is expectation for the first time in your career. I'm very interested in how you dealt with that, but also maybe the advice that your coach gave you in this space.
I think I kind of learned this on my own. I think because I started very young, and Jamaican fans are very demanding.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And let's just be clear for people here: if you've grown up in the UK or something, athletics at school level in Jamaica is like being a professional footballer, right? It's huge.
Yeah, so for me, I started when I was really young in Jamaica. So it would be, "Oh, yeah," and then I would do so well, and it was like, "Boo." Then it was again, I would win again and go, "Yeah," and then "Lo, boo." Same thing.
I kind of figured out that if I do well, they're going to love me. If I don't do so well, they're not going to love me so much. So I told myself, I figured out that I had to do this for myself first because initially, I was always putting Jamaica first.
I always said, "You know what? I need to do this for Jamaica. I need to do this for Jamaica. I need to perform at a higher level." I never talked about myself once, you know what I mean?
So it was always hard for me growing up when I didn't do well, and then I would get the negative energy, and it would be like, "Oh, you're not doing so well. You should retire." It was always negative, and it would make me feel bad.
It took me a while to figure out, "Listen, I have to do this for myself first."
And as well as the expectation from Jamaica, I'm interested in when you go to the next games in London in 2012. You've gone from being the hunter to being the hunted, where you've got a target on your back now. What did that do for your mentality? How did you respond to that?
I loved it! I love it!
All right, I am different. My biggest thing about me, I live to compete. I want to compete. I want to compete against the best all the time.
I remember in '13, I was training hard, I was working hard, and I was getting... we were going to the World Championships. It was in Russia, and a few of the top athletes started dropping out due to injuries, drug issues, and a few other different things.
The fact that everybody wasn't going to be there in the moment kind of... I felt I didn't feel that drive again because I knew if even if I won, the best in the world wasn't there. So I live to compete, so I don't mind being chased. It was fun for me to prove to you or prove to anybody that, "Listen, I'm the best."
Because I'm so competitive, even now that I retired, I'm still competitive. I won't play a game if I'm not going to lose. I'm not playing you. That's how competitive I am. I have to be sure, like, "You know what? I can beat you, then I'll do it." But if I'm not sure I'm going to beat you, I might say, "No, I'm okay. I'll take a rain check."
So which is stronger then: a desire to win or a fear of losing?
Wow. For me, I think the desire to win. I think you want to win so bad. Like with me, I've always wanted to win, and that's what drives me.
Like competition and hard... there is one thing I remember in 2016. It was my last... coming up to my last Olympics, and my biggest competitor was Justin Gatlin. Throughout the year, I was struggling with motivation because I had won everything, you know what I mean?
At the end, I was like going to training, and the older you get, the harder it gets. I was just tired, and every day it was work, and I got injured, and it was double the work.
So for me, it was hard to motivate myself every day. I remember watching a video that he was on a podcast at the time, and they were saying, "Oh, are you going to win?" He said, "Yeah, I'm going to win, and then we're going to go on a tour around the world with no gold medals."
That for me lit a fire. I was like, "Yeah, you're not going to win." So it kind of lit a fire. That's how competitive I was, you know what I mean? If he probably didn't... if I probably didn't see that video, it probably would have been different. But I saw that video, and it helped to motivate me to say, "All right, you know what? I need to get to training. I need to do this because there's no way I'm going to allow him to beat me."
So that's how competitive I am.
I used to love watching, obviously, the race is amazing; it's over quick. I used to love the kind of what I call peacocking before the race, the sort of who can outdo the other runner with... Can you explain what's going on in those moments?
For me, it's always fun. I enjoy watching Justin. It's fun for me to see him in his element because he does this thing where he walks back and forth like a crazy person. He's serious, and I always find it so funny and amusing because that's his way of psyching himself up.
But for me, it was amusing. So it's something that they do, but for me, I'm just chilled because I always knew if I was prepared, there's no way you're going to beat me. So I was always relaxed and ready and just ready to go.
Did you know that some of that behavior you were seeing was entirely for your benefit? It was to try and make you...
Yeah, for sure. Yeah, for sure. But there's no way you're going to intimidate me because, again, I was prepared.
I think that was back in the days when, before just before my time, these guys were always serious, and that was it. They tried to throw off each other. I remember the first time I competed with Justin. He spit across my lane the first time I met him.
We were in, I think it was Zagreb, and we were competing. You know when you warm up and you're running out your blocks? I was walking back, and he was walking towards me, and he kind of spit across the lane in front of me.
I laughed because I knew what he was trying to do, but for me, it doesn't matter. All that matters is that when we line up and that gun goes, you better be ready because you're not going to intimidate me by spitting across the lane.
So for me, that's just who he was and how he was wired because he was in the era before me where it was like that. You would say, "Yo, you better be ready," type of energy to try to intimidate your opponent, but it wouldn't work with me.
I actually think your approach probably intimidated them because I remember watching on the telly Justin walking up and down looking serious. The next thing I see is you fist-bumping the kid that's holding the kid.
Yeah, I think people said that. People are like, "I feel like you're using psychological ways." I'm like, "No, I'm just being myself. I'm genuinely just enjoying the moment."
The reason I bump the fist of the kids is because I know they're fans. This is why most people do try to volunteer because they're fans, and they want to be close to the action.
I know you can see it on their face sometimes how nervous they are or they want to say something, you know what I mean? So I always try to interact with them because I know that moment will live with them forever, and it would be exciting, and it makes them feel good.
So I'll try, if I can strike up a conversation, I will, or I just give them a fist bump, and you can see the happiness on their face. So it's something that I've always done, but it was never to try to psych the athletes out. It was just me being myself and just enjoying the moment because it's the Olympics, and it's a world championship. This is a big moment for athletes.
So can you give us an insight into the self-talk that was going on in your head in those moments before a big race?
For me, I never talked to myself. I always just try to think if I'm just standing on the line and you see me looking, I'm trying to think about random things. Anything that can pop into my head, I try to think about it, you know what I mean?
Like probably what I'm going to have for dinner or if I'm going to play video games or something that happened in the day. I try to distract myself from the moment because if you get into your head, that's when you make mistakes.
I made one mistake in 2011 when I false-started, and that was the issue. I was because I had a bad season, and I was worried. I was like, "Am I going to start well? Am I ready?"
So the moment you start being in your head and start thinking, that's when you make mistakes. So you have to try to clear your head. For me, I try to think about random stuff and not think about the race.
So the moment when the starter says, "On your marks," if you watch me, you see me take a deep breath, and then I try to clear my mind and listen.
So that's it. But when a lot of athletes think about it so much, like, "Okay, I need to swing my arms. I need to get my first step right. I need to get my start right," and then you start confusing yourself, and your mind is all over the place, and that's how you make mistakes.
What about, though, in 2016? Because you've already told us that when you were just little, you said, "I'm going to do it across three Olympics," right? This was now the moment that this childhood dream was going to be realized. So how did you not get overwhelmed in that moment?
No, because I have to tell myself, "You know, and this is the moment." You know what I mean? This is... I was a bit nervous then also, I guess, the first one, last one, because I knew this was the moment. I was like, "Listen, I... you give yourself the pep talk."
Well, my coach gave me the pep talk before—not really a big pep talk. My coach is not a pep talk person, you know what I mean? So he would just say, "Listen, remember to swing your arms, stay upright. All the best, champ," and then send you on your way.
Yeah, it's never like a long speech. It's always just quick things and just send you on. So that's something that was easy for me because I understood. If you do it all the time, it becomes natural and a part of you.
So that's something that I really enjoyed and really was something that I was dedicated to, to get in. I knew this was the moment, you know what I mean? So I was ready.
So what did you say to yourself in that moment, remembering that kid that wanted to do this?
I was telling myself before I went, I was like, "Listen," when we were in the call room, I was telling myself that this is the moment. That's all I kept saying to myself: "This is the moment. This is the moment. You have to get it done. This is the moment."
Then I just went back to being normal because, as I said, the moment you start getting in your head, that's where the problem lies, you know what I mean?
After I won, then the joy came out, and then you start feeling good, and then you start celebrating when I went home. And that's when I was like, "Yeah, I did it," you know what I mean? And I pumped myself up. But you can't lose yourself in the moment until it's done.
So when we say the words "high performance," what does that mean to you?
For me, high performance is getting to the highest level and working to get to the highest level. I think my whole life is focused on the performance and the highest performance that I can get to.
For me, that was every year. You had to always be ready and prepared mentally to get to the highest moment. It was my whole life, you know what I mean? High performance was pretty much my whole life, and that's my focus, and that was my concentration.
I remember seeing a quote of yours once that was, "I don't think limits." Yeah, I think that plays so nicely to high performance. Can you explain that to us?
So for me, I remember it was after the 200 meters. That was when I really thought about it because in '08, the world record for Michael Johnson was very far. I was running okay, and I remember sitting down with my roommate at the time, Ma Smith, and we were having a conversation.
He's like, "Are you going to go for the 200 world record?" And I go, "Ah, that's hard to get." He goes, "Yo, why not?" You know what I mean? You just dragged the world record in 100 meters. Why not go for the 200 meters?
I sat down, and we were going back and forth, and I was like, "You know what? Why not try?" You know what I mean? Because I limited myself. I said to myself, "There's no way I'm going to break this 200-meter world record because I wasn't running that fast."
I was like, "There's no way." But that was me limiting myself. After that, that's when I was like, "You know what? Anything is possible. Don't think limits."
So from then on, I never limited myself, you know what I mean? I never said it cannot be done, you know what I mean? You have to try, try, try, and figure out ways to get there.
So that's where that quote comes from.
So you've got eight Olympic gold medals now, Usain. What was the key to the longevity of this? And do you think anyone else could ever come close to doing the three-peat?
I think it's possible, you know what I mean? I did it. Just as the same thing we just talked about, you can't limit yourself to anything. The moment you limit yourself and say, "Oh, this is untouchable," that's a moment that you have already lost, you know what I mean?
So it is possible if somebody starts at an early age and says, "Listen, this is my goal. I will beat the Usain Bolt records. I will do four Olympics back to back," and work towards it and be dedicated, then it is possible.
But for me, it was talent, hard work, sacrifice, tough times, teamwork. I had a great team around me. It was so many things together that actually made this possible because it wasn't an easy road.
I've always explained to people, "Listen, I think failure is a part of it. You have to fail, and you have to go through tough times to be stronger," you know what I mean? Because it only makes you better, and it only makes you want to work harder.
So it's something that I went through. It started good, but I had scoliosis in my back, so it was an issue that always bothered me throughout my career. But it's something that I managed very well.
It was just a tough time, but as I said, I had the right team, dedication, hard work, sacrifice, and everything just came together with time, and it really helped.
When you reflect on your career and you think about what you're most proud of, obviously people will talk about those eight gold medals because that's how human beings define success.
If I'm being really honest, I think someone who has scoliosis training every day, competing as you did, competing on the world stage, and not ever, from my memory, ever using it as a public excuse for a race that went wrong or something that went badly.
So I wonder how you reflect on how you dealt with that.
For me, it comes back to not lying to yourself, you know what I mean? I think, yes, I had scoliosis, but it was never... We figured out how can we manage? What do I need to do to make sure I can compete with scoliosis?
The good thing about it, I found a doctor in Mola Wford, which was from Germany, that really understood how to help me to manage. He explained if I did my back exercises, my core exercises, and I saw him regularly, it wasn't perfect. We still got injured every now and then, but it helped to manage what is necessary.
The moment you start using something to say, "Oh, this is why I'm not doing that," then you're always going to be behind the eight ball. I never used it. I was like, "You know what? Yes, I have that, but I still can compete. I still can be the best."
I didn't put, as I said, limits on myself, you know what I mean? So I kind of pushed through the hard times and understood that if I worked hard and managed my scoliosis right, then I'll be fine.
So if I say to you now, "What are you most proud of from the incredible career that you had?" What do you say?
Surprisingly, one of my greatest moments that I love was the first time I won in front of my home crowd. I think that made such a big impact on my life and helped me to overcome so much.
When I won at 15 in Jamaica in the World Juniors, I think that in my career was so big. It might not seem big to a lot of people, but I was so nervous that that's one time—like nerves to the point where I'm shaking.
I put the wrong shoe on the wrong foot because I couldn't focus. I was just so stressed. I said to myself, "If I can win in front of my home crowd, that nervousness really set the benchmark for me through my years to be better."
So I feel like winning in front of my home crowd was one of my proudest moments and one of my biggest moments that really helped me to navigate the world and to really get better over time.
You do come from a sport that has been blighted over the years by performance-enhancing drugs. You had the incident of Nesta Carter testing positive, where you had to hand back your 4x100 medal. What do you say to athletes that think those kinds of shortcuts are the way to win?
I could never understand why, you know what I mean? A lot of people don't want to wait their time. I think because I personally feel that, "Yo, I got a talent. God gave me a god-given talent."
I think if you work on your talent and you're really dedicated and figure out how can I get better... I think a lot of people didn't take the time out to figure out, "What did I do wrong? What can I do better?"
You know what I mean? To get to the level. Because that's what I did. I struggled throughout the years to get to where I'm at, but I figured it out. Like, "Oh, this is what I need to do. This is what is going to get me better."
I think a lot of times, the work is so hard because it's not easy. It's very intense, you know what I mean? As I said, it's full of injuries at times, and some people just don't want to put the work in.
So it's tough, and sometimes the mental error that really drives you to go, "You know what? Let me try this instead of doing the work."
Well, look, the fact that you did it, and you did it in the most remarkable way, and you did it clean is something that young Usain Bolt would be very proud of.
Definitely. Obviously, you didn't really get a chance to compete at the top level against MJ, and we actually had him on the podcast a few weeks ago. I asked him who would win: Michael Johnson in his prime or Usain Bolt in his prime? What do you think he said?
I'm sure he said him.
Yeah, for sure.
What did you say?
I'm sure there's no way he's going to beat me.
No! [Applause]
Way! I remember one of the funniest videos I remember in '08. I don't remember who it was. I think it was BBC he was broadcasting with. If you go on the net, you can find this video, and the reaction... they were asking him, "Oh, what do you think? Is he going to break the record?"
He was like, "No, I think his mechanics need some work, and he needs to work on this." He said, "It'll take him two more years before he gets to the world record, maybe."
Then in the same day, I broke the world record. So it was funny, and the reaction is good. It's one of my best videos. I watch it every now and then.
Right. You said we've reached a moment in our interview where we run through some quick-fire questions.
Okay.
So what are the three non-negotiable behaviors, the three behaviors that you hold above all others?
I think it's very simple, you know what I mean? Hard work—you can't beat it, you know what I mean? You have to be dedicated to anything you do. That's one thing. You can't just go in it halfway, like, "Oh, okay, I'm going to do..." You have to be fully dedicated.
And belief. No matter if you don't believe that it can be done, you have already been defeated. I think that's one thing I've always respected about Justin, competing with him—the belief that he had every race that he was going to win.
The moment you come in and don't believe you're going to win, you have already lost. That's one thing my coaches always taught me: never go into a race feeling, "Oh, this guy is better than me. I'm going to lose." The moment you say that, you have already lost.
So those are the three things that really stood with me throughout.
What advice would you give to a teenage Usain?
Do something that you love, you know what I mean? I think that's very important. I think a lot of people might force their kids to do different things or force them to do the sports that they did or the job that they did.
But allow your kid to do what they love because I think when you do what you love, you will pour your all into it. Also, understand that the road won't be easy, you know what I mean? There will be ups and downs all the time, but learn from your mistakes so you can get better and move on and not make those mistakes again.
Just enjoy the journey because I think it's a process, but enjoy the journey because learning is a part of the journey, and just enjoying it would be wonderful.
Very good. What's your biggest strength? What's your greatest weakness?
I think my biggest strength and my biggest weakness are the same thing. I'm very competitive. I think that's one of my biggest strengths in anything because it drives me to always want to do good in whatever I set my mind to.
I'm very competitive. I want to be the best. I want to do well. But it's also one of my biggest weaknesses because I tend not to focus on certain things. I just said you should enjoy the process. At times, I don't enjoy the process because I'm so focused on just winning and getting there and getting everything done.
So I think it's one and the same.
What's the single best piece of advice you've ever received, and why?
Yeah, I explained to you guys earlier about learning how to lose before you can learn how to win. For me, that is one of the biggest things.
But also, as simple as it might be, when my dad said, "Listen, always understand that anything you want in life, you have to work hard for it." He did not just say that. I watched him when I was growing up, working hard, making sure he provided for my family.
So for me, it's very simple, but he proved it to me that hard work and dedication, you can get it done. So those are the two things that really stuck with me throughout my life.
And look, Usain, at the end of this absolutely fascinating conversation, what would you leave the people in the room here at IFS Unleashed, but also for the high-performance audience, thinking about as your one golden rule, if you like, your last message for people to live their own high-performance life?
No, it's the same advice I try to give to the same advice as I give to the kids because I get a lot of people texting me and telling me, "Listen, you're a motivation. Thank you for everything."
So for me in life, it's the same thing that I would tell the kids. No matter what area of work or whatever job you do, it's about the dedication that you have and the love that you have for it.
Understanding that failure doesn't define who you are is if you give up when you fail. That's when the problem lies. So it's all about just learning and evolving and being a better version of yourself every day.
How can I be better? How can I move forward? Over time, you will get better, and you will do well. Just never give up. That's the key thing: never give up. If you believe this is what I want, then find a way, ask questions, learn from people.
So for me, that's something that is big. I tend to learn now. I'm doing music, so there's a lot for me to learn, and I want to be better. So I tend to learn and ask questions.
So that's something that should go on: never give up, and you'll be fine.
And you know what? I love the fact that you are obviously a lifelong learner. You're looking for new challenges. I know football's a great love of yours because I remember seeing you face down your final LEL race, probably in tears, probably hurting deeply.
I remember before this conversation thinking, "What kind of guy are we going to find? Is this going to be someone who's broken, reflecting on the past, wishing they could have those moments all over again?" But you seem in such a good place.
Yeah, for me, a lot of people do... So my last race, I wanted to retire after the Olympics in Rio, but sponsors, fans, everybody was like, "It's in London! Please come! Please come!"
That year, I lost one of my very close friends to a motorcycle accident in April, and it really was with me for a while. I didn't train. I was sad, and it was just drinking and just trying to get past that moment because it was just sudden.
So it was hard for me. I remember going to my doctor. Every year before I go to a championship, I go to see my doctor, and he said to me, "Do not go to the World Championships. If you compete at the level I know you're going to compete, you're going to get injured. Do not go."
I was like, "I have to go because everybody bought their ticket. Everybody was there to see me." He was like, "It's going to be..." and I was like, "It doesn't matter." You know what I mean? I'm doing this for them.
This is the reason I came back because I wanted to retire. This is the reason I came back. For me, yes, it was a tough moment, but I don't think it damaged what I've done before because I did it for the people.
But it's something that I still look at, and I don't regret it, you know what I mean? Because it was a wonderful moment still, and it shows it helps athletes also to see different sides of different people. So it was good.
Brilliant. And can I ask you one last question, Usain? You stand on top of the Mount Olympus of 100-meter sprints. If you had to select your dream 4x100 team from sprinters in history, can you give us the team?
Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow. I think he would be the only person outside. I think it would definitely be Asafa to start, then Justin, and then Yohan Blake, and me at anchor.
So those would be the first four persons I think will be in my... I think you might win gold with that lineup.
Easy!
Please put your hands together and thank the incredible Usain Bolt. [Music]