Usain Bolt Exclusive: How I Overcame Failure To Become The World's Fastest Man

I was so nervous that that's the one time that nerves to the point where I'm shaking all that matters is that when we line up on 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 who works the hardest on your talent will be the best but if you get into your head that's When you make mistake am I going to start well am I ready my biggest competitor there was Justin Gatling he does this thing where he

walks back and forth there's no way you're going to intimidate and 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 was my whole life 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 [Applause] Bolt man nice to see you take a seat just a nice casual conversation with two and a half thousand Friends how are are you I'm good I'm good good it's nice to have you with us so welcome to IFS Unleashed welcome to high performance um 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 the action no uh I was supposed to go with my family um but um I

injured myself I was playing uh charity game football match um for soccer for Unicef and I ruptured my so I actually just start walking okay again so I didn't get to go but I watched on TV and I guess you 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 and not competing so it' be a look weird for 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 you saying were you like were you pleased that nobody broke your world Records um I wasn't worried I would say I could say but uh it's going to it's going to take a while but um it's always happy that it stays intact let's talk then about injuries and perception of you you know like 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 you B's going to win the gold medal yet again so is it a is

it a strange position for you to be in when you're considering not Even going to an Olympics because of the kind of the perception of you being on crutches or hobbling I saw you limping very slightly as you came out today um yeah for me it's it's it's it's injuries a part of um Sports in general I think in any sports you go 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

it's it's a part of the sports but um 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 um for me at at the start of my career I made a a a end gold where I wanted to when I started out I said this is what I want to achieve and 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 12 years of continuous work so for me it was like yes this is it so I had gotten to my goal and that was it for me that's so I knew at this moment if I got where I wanted I would have stopped I'm very interested in this whole idea of goal setting so what was it about the three

Olympics that that Was the thing for you was it was it cuz you'd watched other athletes and were inspired or I think I wanted to set myself apart from from everyone because um growing up I watched Michael Johnson um I'm a massive fan of Mohammad Ali and if you want I've I figured out 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 and for me uh I think Carl Lewis had w J met

twice already um Back to back Olympics um 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 never be broken so 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 and I'm wondering how after you achieved that did you mentally cope with walking away from this fault um for me mentally I was 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 and I had saw so many athletes that tried to rekindle their greatness after they they

retired and they you're at home and you're watching and you're like itching to go back and 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 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 the male athletes weren't dominating for Jamaica and I sit and watch us losing and I was like itching to to go back to to perform for my country so so how long after you retired did you get that Feeling two years it was it was two years in and I was like you know what I think I can go back into the sports and he was like No And did you do did you go out on

the track and do anything or did you pick up the phone to him first I was I was still working out because I would still go to the track to see him and hang out and watch the all the athletes compete and train and so I would be there and I still have my track shoes on sometimes so I still do a small workout But he was like no he told me he's like no 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 sports with and that would be a problem so you want to try C but you don't know where to start well let's start with the fact that we all like different stuff so Ben behind the camera he loves the V to drinks whereas I really enjoy the daily A to Z vitamins Well this is the hu taster bundle and you can try the lot with eight ready to drinks six a toz daily vitamins eight Complete Nutrition bars two hot saory pots and a free hu

t-shirt all you have to do is click the link in the description to unlock your offer now at hu.com SL high performance 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 have a career I think when I

started out it was I didn't understand the concept of um being great you know what I mean um 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 and I remember when I got to the professional level now and I felt like it was just going to be easy and I got onto the stage and I would go to meets and I

would lose and 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 and then when I started working with Coach Mills And 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 and 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 and it took

me time but I learned along the way and I got better over time and 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 that must have come as a bit of a dent to the ego yeah definitely uh for me uh 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 I was feeling like the man I was

like yeah I'm the man and it was just mainly talent but when you traveling now and then we'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's it's it kind of dampened 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 kind of start asking yourself questions and trying to figure out what am I doing wrong or what 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 mean I imagine when he first said it to you was there a little bit of your head going well I'm I'm I'm brilliant of what I do right I think my hard my 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 it's totally different Because when I started working my coach it was in 20 2005 was when I really started working with him and for me I was like I'm doing great you know what I mean but I would win some but I would lose some and 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 then um it was the world championship in no Saka and 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 and I was like why you know what I mean I went to my coach I was like I really tried I really really work and he goes no you didn't work hard you didn't go to the gym every day you missed a few days and he he would tell me like you missed a couple of days throughout the year and it adds up to a month or it adds up to six weeks and then you really I really sat down and

really look back and say you know what it's true and I Was like you know let me give 100% to 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 hall and listen to exactly what he said and 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

so for those of us outside of the world of a for me is 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'll take a week off and in my mind that wouldn't affect but it does because you break the pattern and you break the consistency of work so that was and then I didn't go to the gym to get stronger I was

very slim you you can see the difference in one year of Changed I was very slim no muscles so it's all about consistency and and strength for me cuz I didn't understand that they they go together and the next year when I really consistently trained and was always at training I never missed days unless I was sick and 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 we worked on short year so what percentage then would you say

of in that 08 performance when youve first crepts into the world's Consciousness how much of it was down to your physical gifts and how much of it was down to to the mental strength that you had I think I think overall it's at the start for me I think it was like strength why was like 80 20 because mentally with me I I connect my my physical strength or my mental strength because 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 good I

am so I know if I'm in good shape I'm going to win so it never bother 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 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% so he's a good run but he's not great at maths right um but but but I do think we can't discount the mental side of this game as well I mean 2004 right was was a problem for you yeah for those that don't know just tell us the story of of 04 um well 04 I for me I was I was a that my my first Olympics um if you didn't follow my career a lot of people did not know That I went to the Olympics in you know forign aons and for

me I was going to that season okay and I and I thought I was ready as always because of my talent I was like yo I'm doing well CU I did well at the Jamaican trials and then you get to the Olympics and you meet up with all these guys that they've been training all year round and been dedicated to their craft and I didn't even make it out the first round the top the top four would have made it to the Next round I came fifth so I did not make it and for me

that was a little bit of a wakeup call to say listen you have a long way to go cuz if you can't make it out the first round at the Olympics and there's three more rounds that show how far behind I was and I felt like I was really talented at the time so the high performance podcast exists right 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 do you have many public conversations like this

no I some sometimes you you do not talk about no one wants to talk about their failures as much um growing up but I over the years I understand that that's what helped me to 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 it was of her they try to find different Avenues

to say instead of looking ATS and say you know what it's on me I can do better in this area and that area and to be a better person so that's something that I think helped my career to 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 get better short years and look we are going to talk about the success CU there was a lot of it and it's a

great thing to discuss what surprised me from this conversation is that 2004 you got a kind of a proper slap across the face in Athens right sure 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 it was still I was still Young you have to understand uh uh 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 and 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 and then next season comes and it's the same thing and then you start saying maybe It's not and then you start say all right if I do this amount of work maybe I'll get better then you you lose again and you're like ah and so you start trying to figure it out

and so it took me time but it came together at the right time so yeah yeah worked out and you've spoken about Glenn Mills who's 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 it's I remember at the start when we when we when we started work working together he said something to me and he says he said until you when you figure this out you would get better and he said to me

you have to learn how to lose before you can learn how to win and it took me two years to actually figure out exactly what he meant by that and that was one of the the biggest things that confused me I was like why would I want to learn how to lose You know what I mean before and all is it meant is to cuz most people you have to understand that you will fail but when you fail do you what what do you learn from the failure and that's what it pretty much they 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've said what did I do wrong what do I need to improve and that's when over time I start understanding oh so when I Lose it gets me better to and closer to start 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 till you get to the top and can I ask you about your Inner circle because I can imagine at that time it's easy to to 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 account for me I would to tell you the truth I

was I I kind of locked out with great people um for me so when I started out I had different like massuse and different coaches um in all five when I met Glenn Mills um we kind of just clicked and understood each other it Took us a while to really get smoothly but we we got along great and my manager which now is my best friend we grew up together so that was easy um I got a masseuse the year the Year just before 08 and my agent Ricky Sims I got when I just started

track F these were the the guys that really were in my corner throughout my whole career so they start Ed in the struggle and we kind of worked our way to the top and it's always important to have a great team you know I mean some 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 so for me that was a massive deal of having a great team cuz there's times when you're going to feel down or there's

times when I don't want to get out of bed or there's times when I got injured and I was like oh my God I'm going through this again and 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 sort of mental struggles and the 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 and I would love to know what your mindset was then

you've had the difficult 04 you've had a wakeup call from your coach 07 and a few months later it feels to us like maybe a different Usain Bolt is Taking into the track in Beijing yeah definitely uh 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 I mean I've never tried working hard in dedication and just focusing on just tracking field and just working so for me in 08 I

did everything my coach said um just when you say All or Nothing Like if that if O8 had gone badly done 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 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 and 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 and 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 so 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 like major thing now and I was in great shape you know what I mean

so for me I was excited to go and when I got there it was just all Excitement so you've just said that 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 and being um quite chilled out and 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 I that

was just my personality I think if you if you follow my CER year throughout my years when I was 15 when I won in won in um in Jamaica afterwards I salute to the crowd I was vibing the next year I won at World youth I was dancing break dancing 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 like and they were like oh you're disrespectful and I was like how am I disrespectful did they say that yeah CU you over celebrated yeah because I celebrated before the line and they were like you you're disrespectful so I went to the ACT actual athletes and I was like yo did I went to the ones that I knew I was like did you feel disrespected and they were like no if we Were winning by that far we would be doing the same thing so so

it was some that is good so can I ask you then about those opponents like do you feel that such a comprehensive victory in that Olympic final changed the way that they saw you I I definitely think so I think um 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 thems in Track and field and it's much more fun because you see person people's personality you 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 to just be relaxed and that's something that I've always explained to people like you've already done all this work throughout the year my coaches explained that when you get to the moment there's nothing else you can do now cuz you have worked You have done the work already so when you get to the moment it's all about execution so there's nothing to worry about it's either you're ready or you're not ready that's 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 like listen when you get to the moment you'll be fine cuz I find it interesting when I when I think about what you were like before a race to imagine there was any nerves at all So were the nerves as you walked up to the block I think I think I had the start when my first year I think the Olympics at first o o Olympics I was nervous because this was my first chance to win

yeah 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 keep even your coach no why not so I thought you and your coach were so connected yeah but I know I know my coach if I if I tell my coach

coach you know I'm nervous he's going to say what's wrong with you kid you know I mean like I know in mind in mind work but I know 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 um in the 100 meter sprint so it was a big deal so but after I won that race

I think after that I never really got nervous again what are your memories of that race um for me I can all my Championship races I can walk you through all the races it goes quickly but in my mind it's very slow Because the gun went I got a good start the first five step I actually slightly stumber a little bit and then my dry phase was good at the time my my biggest competitor was my fellow um and Jamaican as Safa power and he always gets a good start and I remember looking that's one

of my biggest problems running I always look across and look around so I look 30 m I was like okay I'm in the race came out my transition I looked again at 50 I was Like I'm doing pretty well you know what I mean and at 60 65 I looked across and I was like I'm winning you know what I mean and I got to 80 and I looked across I was like oh my God I'm going to win so I kind of progression through the race and that was when I beat my chest and

rest is history so when you look back on the on the beating the chest like do you regret that cuz you feel like you could have gone even faster no no I feel like for me was just to win it was just that Moment it was because I had the world record I was never worried about 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 or anything it was just emotions you know when you

work hard and you you finally get got what you wanted it was just I didn't know what to do I was oh my God thank you and I was just happy so it was something it was just all emot coming out at that Time I'm going to tell you a secret that I've noticed about high performers they are laser focused on the power of the gut you heard me right the gut because the gut and overall health are intrinsically linked and that's why so many high performers take a probiotic and one which keeps on being

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difference that Heights could make To your health after Beijing you know you went from as you've already said most people didn't even know you competed and4 at the Olympics to suddenly being arguably one of the most famous people on the planet and 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 the truth about sou almost overnight Global Fame the the hidden cost if you like of of That for me um initially all right so at the Olympics

we stayed in a village so all the athletes in every Sports we stay in a huge village and to put it in perspective when I started out when when I got to the Village I could go to the dining hall I would have food chat my friends we sit we walk around the village and the day after the 100 m i remember walking into the dining hall and everybody went and it was just everybody want to Picture everybody wanted to touch you everybody and he was like what's happening you know what I mean and it

was actually my shot putut guys and the distance guys who were actually my security security guard and had to get me out of the the dining room because I could not stay in there and it was like what's happening you know what I mean cuz this is different I'm I'm from the country you know 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 and it was it's fun but it's not fun you know what I mean so it's different aspects

that I enjoy but you 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 uh got accustomed to it and figur 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 like I get to go to all them United games Glory Glory United so I get access not at the moment yeah wow you just ignoring listen he knows the football team I support uh but for me it was the access You get to enjoy that you get to 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 and over the years I've understood and you kind of learn how to move around and What you can do for what you 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 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 think I kind of learn learned this on my own I think Because I started very young and Jamaican fans are very demanded yeah yeah yeah and let's just be clear for people here like if you've grown up you know in the UK or something a Athletics at school level in Jamaica for us it's like it's like being a professional footballer right is 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 and then it was again I would win Again and go yeah and then Lo boo same thing and I kind of figure 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 I told myself I figure out that I had to do this for myself first because initially I was always putting Jamaica first I always said like 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 and 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 like oh you're not doing so well you should retire and it was always negative and it would make me feel bad and it took me a while to figure out listen I have to do this to 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 all right I am different my my biggest my biggest thing about me I I live to compete I want to compete I want to compete against the best all the time I remember in in oh in 2013 I

was training hard I was working hard and I was getting we're going to the World Championships it was in Russia And a few of the top athletes started dropping out those injuries drug issues and few other different things and the fact that everybody wasn't going to be there in the moment kind of I was like I was 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

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 again if I'm not going to lose I'm not playing you that's how competitive I am I have to be 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 uh I might say no I'm okay I'll take a range Checker so which is stronger then a desire to win or a fear

of losing wow Um wow for me is I think the desire to win I think you want to win so bad like with me I want to I've always wanted to win and that's what drives me like competition and hard there is one thing I remember in 20 in 2016 um it was my last coming up to my last Olympics and my biggest competitor was Justin Gatling and throughout the year I was I was struggling with motivation because I had won everything you know what I Mean and it was at the end and I was

like going to training and older you get hard it gets and I was like I was just tired and I was 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 and I remember watching a video that he was on a podcast at the time and they were saying oh are you going to win and 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 and that for

me did it for me it like a fire and 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 I mean if you 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 competitive I am

and 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 like can you explain what's going on in those moments as well for me it's it's always fun for me I I I I enjoy watching Justin it's fun for me to see to see him in his element because he used to he does this thing where he Walks back and forth like a crazy person you know he's like he

and he's serious and I'm I always find it so funny and amusing because that's his way of psyching himself up though but for me it was amusing so it's something that they do but for me I'm just chilled because I was always 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 and 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 you there's no way you're going to intimidate me because again I was prepared yeah um and 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 he spit across My Lane the first time I met him um we were in I think it was Zagreb and we were competing and we you know when you warm up and you're running out your blocks and I was

walking back and he was walking towards me and he kind of spit across the lane in front of me and 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 cuz you're not going to intimidate Me by spitting across the lane so for me but that's just who he was and that's how he was wired because he was in the arrow before me where it was it was like that you know what

I mean you would say yo you better be ready type of energy to try to intimidate your your your opponent but it wouldn't work with me and I actually think your approach probably intimidated them because I I remember you'd watch on the Telly Justin walking up and down looking serious the Next thing I see your fist bumping the kid that's holding the kid yeah I think people said that people are like you feel like I feel like you're using psychological ways and I'm like no I'm just being myself I'm genuinely just enjoying the moment you

know what I mean and the the reason I bum the Fist of the kids because I know they're fans this is why most people do um try to volunteer because they're fans and they want to be close to the action So I 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 cuz I know that moment will live with them forever and they would be exciting and it make 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 they you can see the happiness on their face so it's something that I've always done but it Was never to try to py the athletes out it was just me being myself and just enjoying the moment because it's it's it's Olympics and it's a world championship this is a big moment for atlet so can you give us an insight into the selft talk that was going on in your head in those moments before a big race um

for me I I never talked to myself I always just try to think if I'm just standing on 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 game 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 mistake I made one mistake in 2011

when I fall 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 so for me I try to think about random stuff and not think about the race so and the moment when the starter says on your marks if 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 AR they 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 you start confusing yourself and your mind is all over the place and that's how you made mistakes what about though in 2016 because you've already told us that when you were just little you saying 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 you I have to tell myself you know and this is the moment you know what I mean this it it's 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 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 you 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 um was easy for me because I understood and 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 to get in I knew this was the moment yeah

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 to do this I was I was telling myself before I went I was like listen I sat down 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 the moment and then I just went back to being normal because as I said the moment you

start getting to your Head that's where the problem lies you know what I mean and 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 one's like yeah I did it you know what I mean and pop 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 this high performance is getting to the to the highest level and working To get to the

highest level I think my whole life is focused on the performance and highest performance that I can get to and for me that was every year you had to always be ready and prepare mentally to to get to the highest moment and it was my whole life you know I mean high performance was pretty much my whole life and that's my focus and that was my concentration I remember seeing a 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 um so for me I remember it was after the 200 M that was when it was I really thought about it because um in ' 08 the world record was was 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 and he's like are you going to go for the 200 world record and I go Ah that's hard To get and 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 met and I was and I sat down where going back and forth and I was like you know what why not try you know what I mean cuz I limited myself cuz I said to myself there's no way I'm going to break this 200 meter road record because I wasn't running that fast and I was like there's no way but that was me limiting myself and after that that's was when I Was like you know what anything is possible don't think limits so from then on I

never limit myself you know what I mean never said it cannot be done you know what I mean you have to try try and try and try and figure out ways to get there so that's that's where that coach comes from so you've you've got eight Olympic gold medals now you're saying what was the key to the longevity of this and do you think anyone else could ever come Close to doing the three P I think it's it's it's possible you know mean I did it as I just as the same thing we just talk

about you can't limit yourself to anything the moment you limit yourself and said oh this is Untouchable that that's a moment that you have already lost you know what I mean so it is possible if if somebody starts at an early age and say listen this is my goal I will beat the Usain bow records I will do four Olympics back to back and work Towards and be dedicated then it is POS possible but for me it was Talent hard work it was sacrifice it was tough times was teamwork I had a great team around

me it was so much things together that actually made this possible because it wasn't a easy Ro and I've always explained to people like listen I think failure is a part of it you have to fail and you have to go through tough times uh to be stronger you know what I mean cuz 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 I have scoliosis in my back so it was an issue that always bothers me throughout my

career but it's something that I managed very well um and it was just a tough time but as I said I had the right team dedication the hard work the sacrifice and everything just came together with time and it really helped and 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 some 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 and 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 and 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 and he explained if I did my back exercise my core exercise and I saw him on the regular it wasn't perfect we still got Injured every now and then but it helped to manage um 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 Beyond eightball I never used I was like you know what yes I have that but I still can compete I still can be the best and I didn't

put as I said I didn't put limits on myself you know what I mean so I kind of pushed through the hard times and on understood That if I worked hard and I 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 um surprisingly um one of my greatest moments that I love is it was the first time I won in front of my home crowd I think that made such a big impact on

my life um and helped me to overcome so much when I won at 15 in Jamaica in 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 a one time like nerves to the point where I'm I'm shaking you know what I mean I put the wrong sh on the wrong foot because I couldn't focus I was just so stressed and I said to myself if I can win in front of my home crowd that nervous that really

set the Benchmark for me through my years to be better so I feel like winning in front of my home Crowd that 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 through all time and you do come from a sport that has been blighted over the years by performance enhancing drugs you had the inance of Nesta Carter testing positive where you had to hand back your 41 100 you know 4X 100 medal what do you say to athletes that think

those kind of Shortcuts are the way to win I I could I can never understand why you know what I mean uh a lot of people don't want to wait their time I think because you I I personally feel that yo I got a talent God gave me a god-given talent and I think if you work on your talent and you're really dedicated and figure out how can I get better and I think a lot of people didn't take the time out to figure out what what did I do wrong or what can I do

better you Know what I mean to to to to get to the level and cuz that's what I did cuz 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 and I think a lot of times that a lot of athletes the work is so hard cuz it's not easy it's very intense you know what I mean and as I said it's full of injuries at time and I some people just don't

want To put the work in so it's it's it's it's tough and sometimes the mental era 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 um is something that that young you say Bol would be very proud of defin um 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 us 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 I remember one of the funniest videos I remember in ' 08 I don't remember who he was I think it was BBC he was broadcasting with and if you go On the net you can find his video and the reaction they were asking him oh what do you

think is he going to break the record and he was like no I think his mechanics needs some work and he needs to work on this and it take him two more years before he gets to the world record maybe and then in the same day I brought the world record so it was funny and the reaction is is good and it was good it was it's one of my best videos I watch it every now and Then right um You said we've reached a moment in our interview where we run through some quick far

questions okay so what are the three non-negotiable behaviors the three behaviors that you hold above all others I think it's it's it's very simple you know I mean hard work is you can't beat it you know what I mean and you have to be dedicated to anything thing 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 if 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 and that's one thing my coaches always taught me never going to 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 you saying um do something that you love you

know what I mean I 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 um 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 and 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 that mistakes again and just enjoy the journey because I think 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 I I'm very competitive I think I think that's one of my biggest strength in anything because it it drives me to always want to do good in what no matter what I I set my

mind to I'm very comp I want to be the best I want to do well but it's also one of my my biggest weakness because I tend not To to focus on certain things I 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 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 the the learning how to lose

before you can learn how to win um for me that is one of the biggest 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 and he did not just say that I watched him when I was growing up working hard making sure he provide 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 you saying 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 is the same advice I try to give the same advice as I give to the kids because I get a lot of people like texting me and telling me like listen you're a motivation thank you for

Everything so for me in life is 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 and understanding that failure doesn't Define who you are is is if you give up when you fail that's when the problem lies so it's all about just learning and and evolving and being a better version of yourself every day how can I be Better how can I move forward and then I think over time you

will get better and you will do well just never give up that's that's the key thing never give up if you believe this is what I want then find a way ask question learn from people so for me that's something that is big and 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 cuz I remember seeing you face down your final LEL race probably in tears probably hurting deeply and I remember before this conversation thinking what what 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 all right A lot of people do so my last race I wanted to retire

after the the the Olympics in Rio but sponsors fans everybody was like it's in London please come please come um that year I love lost one of my very close friends to uh a motorcycle accident in April and it really was with me for a while and I Didn't get I didn't train I was sad and it was just drinking and just trying to get past that that moment because it was just sudden so it was hard for me and uh I remember remember going to cuzz 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 go if you compete at the level I know you're going to compete you're going to get injured do not Go and I was like I have to go because everybody bought their ticket everybody was there to see me and he was like it's going to be and I like it doesn't matter you know 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 and for me yes it was a tough moment but it's still for me I don't think it damaged what I've done before because I did for the people but it's something That I still look and I don't regret 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 you saying you stand on top of the Mount Olympus of 100 meter spins if you had to select your

dream 4X 100 team from Spencers in history can you give us the team Wow wow wow wow wow wow I think he would be the only person outside I think it would definitely be a sappa to start than Justin and Yan Blake and me at anchor so those will be the first the 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 you say Bol [Music]