Bolt wants athletes to 'show their personalities'

MONACO: The show is coming to an end; long live the King. 2017 will be the year Usain Bolt will pull down the curtains on his 15-year-long glittering career. A career which brought him nine Olympic gold medals - down to eight after Nesta Carter's flunked dope test took the 2008 Beijing Olympics relay gold from Jamaica - and five world records in 100m and 200m events over the years.
But more than his records and medals on the track, it was 'Showman' Bolt who ruled the fans' hearts in those magical nine-something seconds. So how does it feel to be in touching distance of sprinting 'immortality'?
Bolt, who has been nominated for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award, was not shy of admitting he has worked hard all his life to achieve this 'immortality'. "For me immortality seems equivalent to being the greatest. I always wanted something like that - to be the greatest. Immortality is something I have worked really hard to achieve," Bolt told TOI ahead of the Laureus Awards night here in Monaco on Tuesday.
One star who had claims to Bolt's title of 'Showman' was four-time Olympic gold medal-winning 200 and 400m champion Michael Johnson. When asked about the future of athletics after Bolt's retirement, Johnson told TOI, "Bolt has redefined sprinting. Bolt is a bonus for athletics, not an anomaly. Athletics needs to be marketed well especially after Bolt quits the sport. I am supportive of any effort to bring in more fans, especially after the various doping scandals."
When asked the same question, Bolt replied, "I don't want sprinters to change their personalities, but I always tell fellow sprinters that people enjoy your personality along with your performances. I was telling (Andre) De Grasse the same thing. It's no good being too quiet but it'll be no good if he goes flat once I retire. Hopefully, they will listen to me and try to show their personalities a little more."
So, once he gives up the sport, what's on his 'bucket list' professionally and personally? "Professionally I'll try to play soccer… because it's something I have always wanted to do all my life. Personally there are so many things I want to do, like coming back to Monaco to watch the F1 Grand Prix or visiting Ireland!" the Jamaican legend said.
Looking relaxed after a busy day of media and sponsor commitments here, Bolt, his 'Nitro' cap turned backwards, refuted the suggestion that he'll take a U-turn on his decision to retire this year.
"I'll definitely miss the crowd and the atmosphere around the stadiums. But I know it's time to walk away now. I have been through so much and given up so much to be where I am. I have never let track-&-field imprison me but I take so much time to recover - at least 2-3 months to return from injuries and niggles. 2015 was especially a rough year and I barely made it through that," the 30-year-old said.
One thing is for sure, there won't be another Bolt but the search for the second 'bolt of lightning' will continue.