I was so in love with cricket I didn’t want to do anything else: Usain Bolt

Usain Bolt has made some stunning confession in his recent interview with The Telegraph. The superstar sprinter from Jamaica has revealed that sprinting was never his first love. Instead, he was more inclined towards cricket and football during his childhood.

The sprinter said, “I was so in love with cricket I didn’t want to do anything else. Track was just something I was doing because I was good at it, and because I was winning it was, “You should do this.”’ He shrugs. ‘So, all right…”

Bolt grew up in a village of Sherwood Content in Jamaica and studied at the Waldensia Primary School. He recalls that it where the making of a world beater began.

“Yeah, that’s where it all started for me. That’s where we had our sports say, and it was really small.”

The sprinter also told about what was in his mind when he ran his first race. He said, “I was thinking about winning.” But the most important thing that Bolt recalls from his childhood is that he had no interest in running.

As a youngster, Bolt was a fast bowler, and Sachin Tendulkar, Waqar Younis, and Chris Gayle are his sporting heroes. Bolt also smashed three sixes against Yuvraj Singh in a seven-a-side exhibition match in the Chinnaswamy Stadium in 2014.

Lorna Thorpe was the head of sport at the William Knibb Memorial High School in the town of Falmouth where all the primary schools would gather in Trelawny. Thorpe told The Telegraph, “You could see this tall young boy – just raw natural talent. The principal at the time decided to give him a scholarship because we didn’t want to lose him.”

Bolt refers to Thorpe as ‘his second mother’ and the latter also recalls that Bolt’s love for cricket and football was such that they had to send someone to fetch the sprinter. She said, “We’d always say, leave the football alone, man; you’ve got a gold mine in your legs!”

After mesmerizing everyone with his sheer speed, it was finally at the 2008 Beijing Olympics where he became a sporting icon. He went on a record breaking mode and pocketed three gold medals at the Games in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m.

His world record timing of 9.69 seconds in the 100m event saw him getting crowned with the title of the “fastest man on the planet.” He remained the king of the track in the London 2012 Olympics as well, winning three more Gold medals there. The recently concluded Rio 2016 Olympics saw him win the a triple of Gold medals once again.

So what does the man want after having won the triple-triple? Bolt replied, “What I always wanted..was to be great. For me, it (greatness) means being remembered. People talk about sports all the time, and I want to be a part of that conversation, you know what I mean? When they talk about greats it’s always Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan, Pelé. I want to be a part of that conversation so when they talk about the greats they say Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan, Pelé, Usain Bolt.”

Watch: Usain Bolt smashing a six against Yuvraj Singh