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Usain Bolt is one of the most famous athletes on the planet. He broke several world records on the running track and collected a total of 8 Olympic gold medals during his career. When he ended his running career, he put on football boots and tried football. How did this phenomenal athlete’s training and eating routine look like at the time of his greatest glory? Today’s article will answer that as well.
If Bolt picked cricket, the world could have been deprived of his phenomenal performances
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Usain St. Leo Bolt was born on August 21, 1986 in Sherwood Content, where he grew up with his brother and sister. He was very active as a child and directed his excess energy mainly on cricket and football. At an early age, sport became an integral part of Usain’s life, and his innate talent soon began to show. At the age of 12, for example, he became the school’s fastest runner in a 100-metre sprint.
He continued to play cricket in high school. But coach Dwight Barnett soon noticed Usain’s running potential and urged him to join the athletics team. Fortunately, Bolt took his advice and began to devote himself fully to furthering his sprinting skills. He found himself under the leadership of former Olympian Pablo McNeil. He mainly trained 200-metre sprints with him. Furthermore, he soon began to improve and finish races at leading positions. He even managed to win the Junior World Championships when he was just 15 years old. He even earned the fairly fitting nickname “Lightning Bolt” for his performances, which stuck with him throughout his career.
How did Bolt’s first Olympics turn out?
Bolt got his first chance to shine in the 2004 Olympics, when he was 17 years old. The race was in Athens, Greece, where the modern Olympic Games were held for the first time in the 19th century. Unfortunately, that didn’t bring Usain much luck. Due to a leg injury, his time wasn’t good enough to go through elimination rounds to the finals. That meant that young Bolt had to wait for his Olympic success a little longer.
After returning from Athens, he was coached by Glen Mills, head coach of the Jamaican athletics team at the time. Bolt began to improve again, longing to fix his reputation from the Olympics. Unfortunately, following important races did not turn out as Usain had imagined. He was injured again in the final run of the World Championships in Helsinki and finished last. Because of this, Glen Mills slightly modified his training plan. He added special exercises for Bolt to improve his flexibility, which should help him reduce the risk of injury.
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A bet that pushed Bolt alongside the greatest sprinters
Usain continued to focus his training mainly on 200-metre or 400-metre runs. But he always wanted to compete with other sprinters on the 100-metre run, the shortest sprinter track. Coach Mills was trying to discourage him from this because of his slow starts. But Bolt was adamant, so the coach made a deal with him. If Usain manages to set a new national record in the 200-metre race in 2007, he can go and try the hundred. Motivated, Bolt did it and broke the 36-year-old Jamaican record.
It was soon confirmed that Bolt’s participation in the 100-metre sprint was a good move. He excelled at this distance and was immediately able to compete with the best. In 2008 in New York, he even beat one of the best sprinters at that time, Tyson Gay, and became the new world record holder on this track. This was already a huge success, but Usain’s biggest challenges of 2008 were still around the corner, in the form of the Beijing Olympics.
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After the great success at the Beijing Olympics, the whole world knew his name
In Beijing, Usain wanted to mend his reputation from the disastrous Athens Olympics. And he managed to do that in the very first discipline. He won gold on the 100-metre track. Then, in front of the whole world, he also dominated the 200-metre run and capped everything when he contributed to a victory of the Jamaican relay team at 4×100 metres. The icing on the cake was that he set a new world record in all three races he won. Thanks to his success in Beijing, Usain Bolt has become a world-class athlete. After the Olympics, he also showed that his heart is in the right place. He donated $50,000 to help people in China’s Sichuan province, which was hit by an earthquake.
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In Berlin, Bolt made history with a new world record in the 100-metre dash with a time of 9.58 seconds
After returning from the Olympics, Bolt continued his hard training, which soon paid off. In 2009, he set a new world record in the 100-metre dash in Berlin. He won with an incredible time of 9.58 seconds. This means that Bolt’s speed in this race was over 10 metres per second. On average, he “flew” at a speed of 37 kilometres per hour and reached a speed of approximately 44 kilometres per hour in the fastest section. At the same championship in Berlin, Bolt also managed to set a new world record on the 200-metre track. He won the event in 19.19 seconds.
After the Rio Olympics, Bolt won the triple-triple
In 2012, another Olympics took place, this time in London, where Bolt had a clear goal – to defend gold from Beijing. And he did. He won at both 100 and 200 metres tracks, making him the first sprinter to defend victories in both of these disciplines at two consecutive Olympics. Together with other members of the Jamaican relay team, he also managed to repeat the victory in the 4×100 metres relay race. And it wasn’t just a victory. The Jamaicans managed to set a new world record with a time of 36.84 seconds.
For the next 4 years, Bolt was waiting for the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Even there, to the amazement of all spectators, he was able to defend first place in all disciplines. He thus won 3 sprint disciplines at three consecutive Olympics, which is called the triple-triple. In 2017, however, he was deprived of Olympic gold from the relay of 2008. This is because doping tests were performed again and a sample of his teammate Carter contained illegal substances. From that moment on, Bolt can no longer say that he won the legendary triple-triple. However, he belongs among the historically most successful Olympians, who demonstrated absolutely phenomenal performances.
How did Bolt’s football career turn out?
In 2017, Bolt ended his professional sprinting career. He has already met all his goals and lost the motivation to continue racing. But he still wanted to stay in the world of sports and wondered which way to go. And he picked his favourite sport from his youth – football.
He exchanged his running shoes for football boots and put on the football shirt of the Australian football club Central Coast Mariners. He played in a couple of friendly matches, scored two goals, but soon found out that he would probably not be the next Messi. In 2018, however, he managed to fulfil his dream and played at the stadium of his favourite team – Manchester United. It was in front of more than 70,000 fans on the occasion of a benefit match supporting UNICEF. In 2019, he ended his football career and now plays sports only for fun and fitness.
Usain Bolt’s training and diet routine at a time of the greatest glory
Bolt’s innate talent and athletic figure were not the only things behind winning 8 Olympic medals. Throughout his whole career, he trained hard, even twice a day, 6 days a week. In the morning, he typically went to a gym, concentrating on abs, acceleration, and strength of his lower limbs. The training plan contained squats, deadlifts, box jumps and a bench press. In the afternoon, he continued training on the racetrack. There he worked with the coach to improve his technique, faster starts and maintaining maximum speed. After several hours of demanding training, he spent some time resting. Usain considered sleep to be extremely important. In order to give the body time for regeneration, he tried to sleep for at least 8 to 10 hours a day.
During strenuous training, Usain’s muscular body burned large amounts of calories that needed to be replenished. During his professional career, Bolt did not follow any special diets, and his food was usually prepared by a personal chef. His diet was dominated by easily digestible carbohydrate foods such as rice, potatoes, pasta or fruits. He also ate a lot of eggs, fish or chicken. During the day between training sessions, Bolt usually ate a predominantly carbohydrate diet, which did not complicate his digestion, and he was able to concentrate entirely on sports performance. Larger portions of more complex meals with an integral content of protein and vegetables were scheduled for the evening.
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In addition to well-managed training and a nutritious diet, Bolt’s success was also helped by his indomitable mentality. He always had a high self-confidence and wanted to be the best from a young age. At the same time, however, he learned to lose because he knew it was part of the sport. Throughout his career, he sought to be remembered by people and became a legend like Muhammad Ali.
What does Usain Bolt’s current life look like?
After ending his sports career, Bolt focuses on business. He is also the face of the PUMA brand, which in 2020 released a special edition of sneakers with his signature. He also owns a chain of Jamaican food restaurants and helps people in need through his foundation. He lives a happy family life with his partner, Kasi Bennett, who makes a living as a model.
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As of September 2021, they raise together three children. A daughter cleverly named Olympia Lightning and sons (twins) named Thunder and Saint Leo. Maybe they will one day grow into world-class sprinters. Maybe they will have the opportunity to break their Dad’s record on the 100 and 200-metre dash track that, as of September 2021, Usain Bolt still holds.
What comes to your mind when you say the name Usain Bolt? His incredible speed, lovable character or famous winning pose? If you liked the article, don’t hesitate to share it with your friends.
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