Usain Bolt may reconsider plans to retire after Rio 2016

Usain Bolt speaking at the IAAF gala

Monaco, Nov 18 (IANS/CMC) Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt may ditch plans to retire from the track after the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

The World and Olympic champion said there is a possibility that he would compete at the 2017 World Championships in London, making a return to the track he set alight in the summer of 2012 at the Games in the British capital.

“I was having some talk about this with my coach and he was saying people had said I should go for another year,” he said.

Bolt has said consistently following his triple gold medals at the World Championships in Moscow this year that he will seek three more gold medals at the Rio Games before retiring from the sport.

In his autobiography, released earlier this month, Bolt wrote he is not concerned about the huge challenge and expectation of repeating these performances in Rio.

“If there’s a possibility that I might make it, then I’m going to give it everything I’ve got. I’ve talked to coach about our chances and we’ve discussed the situation sensibly by looking at some of the other athletes around us. I’ll be turning 30 when Brazil comes around.

“Some guys in track and field have run times of 9.80-9.90 seconds at that age. If I take care of my body and if I can push myself to the limits, then I don’t doubt my ability to make 9.60 seconds in 2016,” he said.

Bolt and his compatriot Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce were named the 2013 Athletes of the Year at the IAAF World Athletics Gala here on Saturday.