Usain Bolt

Usain Bolt repeats the phrase again and again as he comes to terms with the
supposed threat to his global sprint dominance emanating from a proven
drugs cheat back in Britain. He is sitting on a balcony overlooking the
skyline in Kingston, Jamaica, with the Caribbean directly behind him and
the April sun high in the blue, cloudless sky. "Project Bolt," he says, as
if it is a punchline to a joke. "Project Bolt," he repeats, referring to
the mission that Dwain Chambers has set himself to de-rail the Olympic 100
metres, 200 metres and relay gold medallist and world record holder. 
By rights Bolt should be furious with Chambers. Not only has the shamed
British athlete been mouthing off recently that when the pair trained for a
while in 2006 the Brit was taking out the Jamaican on a regular basis on
the track - Bolt says races, not training races, count - but his positive
drugs test added to the worldly suspicion that anybody fast these days has
to be taking illegal substances.

But while the muscle flexing continues in Britain everything is chilled in
 Jamaica. The 22-year-old star of the Beijing Olympics may be back in full
training now but he is still enjoying life, as his appearances at the
incredible Jamaican Girls and Boys Championships at the National Stadium,
and at his own party at the capital's famous Quad club late on a Saturday night, can
testify. He's never heard the Project Bolt phrase before, and he is doing
his best to stifle his laughter.

"If I train and I'm fit then there's no worries," he explains, with a
beaming grin all over his face. "I compete, I win. People can say what they
like. Let's see what happens when we race. I don't need to concern myself
about anyone else.

"
By anyone else he means, when asked, his countryman Asafa Powell, Walter
Dix and America's Tyson Gay. No mention of Chambers. But surely he would
have noticed what the British sprinter achieved at the European Indoor
Championships in Turin in March? Bolt shakes his head. "Indoors and
outdoors are totally different," he says, dismissively. "I'm not concerned
about what people do indoors. I'm not concerned what people do outdoors
either for that matter. I'm the fastest man in the world and I know that
this means I should win every race.

"
Therein lies the key to Bolt's outlook in a sport that has become close to
depending on his speed, his character and, above all else, his clean
reputation. He is unbothered by what else goes on in the sprints, just as
long as he keeps on leaving everyone else in his slipstream. While Chambers
is talking the talk about Bolt, the Olympic champion was not even aware
that the British number one cannot compete in any of the big European
meetings because of his drugs offences. "Oh really?" he asks, with surprise
in his voice. "I'd quite like to race him before the world championships in
Berlin in August but, if that's the rules, that's the rules.

"
Does he not mind the fact that Chambers will most probably be racing
against him at the worlds, though? "Nah," he says. "You see, I'm not like
other athletes. I don't know much about what's going on. I'm just not that
interested. All I care about is winning. I'm not saying it's good that
there are athletes who have taken drugs, of course, but when they line up
against me, clean or not, they are there to be beaten. That goes for
Chambers, too. It's irrelevant what he's done as far as I'm concerned.
There have been times in the past when I've looked across at athletes and
wondered, but then I just go and beat. It's the same with Chambers."
Still it is because of Chambers, and Tim Montogmery, and Justin Gatlin and
Marion Jones that suspicion is rife in sprinting. Bolt's case for being
clean is compelling, though.

For a start he is close to being a physical
freak in sprinting terms. He reached 6ft 5 in by the age of 15, has a seven
foot stride, and needs only 41 strides to complete 100 metres, five less
than his teammate and rival Powell. He also has a wealth of impressive
marks to his name long before he became a global household name in Beijing,
including becoming the youngest ever world junior champion at 15, and the
youngest 200 metre runner in history to break 20 seconds, which he did aged
17. Perhaps most telling, he also gets tested more than just about any
other athlete, even back in Jamaica where the IAAF compensate for the
island's lack of an effective out of competition anti-doping programme.
"Once last year I was tested at the training track and then, half an hour
later when I got home, there were more testers waiting for me there. I was
tested seven times in the week running up to the 100 metres in Beijing. I
am tested all the time and I have no problems with this at all. It proves
I'm clean and I'm happy to do whatever it takes to help improve the image
of my sport. You see, I can understand why some people who don't know my 
background, and all the marks I achieved before the Olympics, place some
doubt on what happened in Beijing. I really do.
"It's going to take time before people can trust the sport again. I am
aware of the responsibility on my shoulders, and of the fact that after
what I achieved in China my sport needs me to carry the burden. But I 
believe we've turned the corner. I don't think anyone's taking drugs now,
 but if it takes hundreds of tests over the next few years then so be it.

Even if some are on drugs - and I have no suspicions - it doesn't bother me
because I'll beat them anyway." Witnessing the Girls and Boys Championships only serves to prove Bolt’s point more. In Britain a schools athletics competition would barely make the local papers. In Jamaica the National Stadium is close to its 30,000 capacity on the final night, and for all four nights the “Champs,” as they are called in these parts, are beamed live on TV. The current world junior champion, Dexter Lee, comes from this Caribbean island, and there are currently eleven Jamaican sprinters who can all run under 10.2 seconds, all gaining invaluable experience at the Champs, an event which will celebrate its Centenary next year, and which enjoys so much sponsorship money that there are leftover funds for other sports such as basketball and hockey. Athletics, and especially the sprints, is to Jamaica what rugby is to New Zealand and cricket is to India. And it is little wonder that the world’s top sports agents and sportswear representatives flock each April to these parts to snap up the next Usain Bolt.

After last year’s Olympics, where the Jamaican male and female sprinters dominated, eyebrows were raised and questions were asked, and while it would be naïve to totally dismiss any doubts at all in track and field right now, a couple of days spent at the Champs taking in the love of athletics should dispel too many concerns.
If Bolt's confidence makes sorry reading for the likes of Chambers and
company, the fact that he stumbled into the 100 metres is hardly going to
make them feel any better. "I only did it to avoid running the 400 metres,"
he says. "I can take or leave the 100 metres, if I'm honest. The 200 metres
is my main event. I might even go for the 400 metres in 2010, although I
don't like the look of the training. Then the 100 metres would have to go."
It was in the 100 metres final in Beijing, of course, that Bolt smashed the
world record with a time of 9.69, all the more astonishing because he
slowed right down and waved his arms around in celebration. Scientists
later worked out that he would have recorded a time of 9.55 seconds if he
had continued at the same rate of knots. "That would have been a stupid
thing to do because you earn money for breaking world records, and I can do
it bit by bit now."
He laughs at this, not entirely serious. "The truth is I had no idea I'd
set the world record until I was doing my victory lap. I was looking away
from the clock when I crossed the line and had to be told my time. I didn't
set out to break the world record. I just wanted to win the race. That's
 all I ever do. It was a fast track and I was in the best shape of my life.
That's why the record fell, that and the fact that I was very relaxed and
not in the slightest bit nervous. I've not been nervous since the world
junior championships when I placed my spikes on the wrong feet. After that 
experience nothing has got to me."

There is a lot more to come, too. Bolt has this masterplan to run for a
further ten years. "I want to become recognised as the greatest athlete in
the history of athletics," he admits. "Following up from what I did in
Beijing won't be easy, and I know I'm the man everyone's gunning for, but I
like the sound of the challenge and I'm ready for it. Besides, it's obvious
the world record will go again in the 100 metres this season, and then
there's the matter of the world championships to win.
"I'm already working on some new moves for Berlin. I'm trying to put on a
spin on the sport and make it enjoyable for fans to watch, so I'll be
adding to my lightning bolt sign, hand signals and dancing by the summer.
Backing up last year is very important to me at the world championships,
but I know I'm fast. Hey, I'm the fastest man in the world."
Usain Bolt considers that last statement for a while before delivering his
happy verdict. "Now that's awesome!"

Bolt and Ronaldo:

Cristiano Ronaldo may not be looking forward to the visit of Usain Bolt to
the Manchester United training ground quite so much later this month after
the Olympic double sprint champion yesterday criticised the Portuguese
midfielder for not staying on his feet , and picked holes in his sprinting
technique.

Bolt is due to visit the United team on the Friday before they host Arsenal
at Old Trafford in their penultimate Premiership game of the season,
fitting this in around his May 17th appearance in a 150 metres road race in
the city centre. Bolt will also be introduced to the half-time crowd. Then,
on the Sunday night, he is presenting an award at the United players
dinner. By then he may have had to have explained himself to the current
 world player of the year.

"Seriously, I'm going to tell Ronaldo to stop being such a wuss," Bolt
promised in Kingston, despite the fact that Ronaldo has sent him a signed
United shirt. "The reason why his game has gone down this season is because
every opposing player is picking on him but you don't see anyone doing that
to Wayne Rooney, do you? I'd like to see more of Rooney's fight in Ronaldo.
He has to be aggressive like Rooney, even if it gets him into trouble at
first, and he has to stop falling over all the time. At least other players
will stop picking on him then."
Part of Ronaldo's inabaility to stay on his feet is down to his running
style, insists the United fan. "His problem is that when he runs he leans
forward and when he reaches his peak he loses his balance and falls over.
Sometimes he needs to slow down, and he also needs to sprint more upright.
I'll be giving him some tips when I come to Manchester so that he can get
back to the top of his game."