Usain Bolt is a household name across the world. What many people do not know is that behind this name is a man who scored arduous odds to make a record.

The Jamaican’s sprinting record remains unmatched after his retirement. They have tried but failed.

He is a happy sportsman who challenges and inspires the whole world with his zeal and determination.

The 35-year-old eight-time Olympic gold medalist never let fear cripple him. He is on the record with an inspirational quote on doubt.

Bolt attributes his success on the tracks to his life-long mantra on self-belief. “I know what I can do so I never doubt myself.”

Usain Bolt. [Anadolu Agency]

Usain Bolt Childhood

Born in a small town on the third largest island in the Caribbean, Bolt grew up a lover of cricket and football.

He played together with his brother and sister anytime they felt like in the streets while his parents managed a grocery store.

Bolt schooled at Waldensia Primary where his sprinting career took off. Teachers are the school noticed his huge potential and tapped this early enough.

He loved sports and he confesses so. “When I was young, I didn’t really think about anything other than sports,” he says.

A great cricket player he was in his childhood and one of his coaches at school noticed his swift he was. He urged him to think of sprinting which Bolt took up the challenge and started practicing.

When he was 12 years old, Bolt stunned his school by becoming the fastest athlete at the school. He swiftly covered a 100 m track in the bat of an eye leaving many in disbelief.

After this, former Olympic Sprint champion Pablo McNeil trained a young Bolt. Dwayne Jarret, another sprinting champion helped train Bolt and he learnt fast.

In the subsequent world championships, he bagged medals in the junior, youth and senior levels.

This spun his athletics career to not only an eleven-time world champion but a multiple Olympic gold medalists. Bolt broke history by becoming the world’s only sprinter to win Olympic 100 m and 200 m titles at three consecutive Olympics.

Early Career

His career dates back to 2004 when he gained recognition. Between then and 2007, he competed in Junior, youth and senior level races before going pro. Bolt would then make a name for himself a decade later until his retirement in 2017.

Usain Bolt Determination

Bolt’s success did not come on a silver platter despite having the calling since he was a young boy. He breaks the belief that “he is just lucky” saying that it took years of hard work and sacrifice to be who he is.

In one of his famous quotes, he says, “Dreams are free. Goals have a Cost.” He adds. “While you can daydream for free, goals don’t come without a price time, effort, sacrifice and sweat.”

He ends it by asking a rather provoking question ‘How will you pay for your goals?”

In his entire athletics career, his steadfast love for the sport and discipline still has him in the annals of history with mindboggling records. No other sprinter ever broke his records since his retirement in 2017.

As to whether someone else will in the future, that’s another story for another day. But, Bolt is sure his legacy will live on forever.

Fountain Of Hope

Besides his lustrous athletic career, Bolt is a beacon of hope and a fountain of inspiration for the downtrodden. Cal him a motivational speaker in other words – you would be right.

His most famous is this one for his critics: “I know what I can do so it doesn’t bother me what other people think or their opinion on the situation.”

Better still, he has something for your mental strength. “Learning the mind is as important as understanding the body.”

For a man of his calibre, he weathered a major storm that is doping. He is a natural and kicked hard on the tracks without using performance-enhancing drugs that dog athletics. Great men and women have crashed their lives and career due to doping.

But he refuses to be a statistic of what greed and shortcuts can do to an overzealous mind.

And just like everyone else, Bolt’s lowest moment was when he suffered a hamstring injury while sprinting. Despite the pain, he pushed himself to the finishing line with the help of his teammates. It still is a sad and stark reminder but he learnt great lessons about the spirit of togetherness.

Usain Bolt. [BBC]

Football Ambitions

Just before he retired in 2017, he told the Guardian that his dream was to become a professional footballer. And his team of choice was Manchester United but this never materialized.

Instead, he pursued his football dream in Australia’s A-league but lives to regret why he ever left Europe where there were better teams.

All in all, to man in error and perfection, is divine. It was a learning curve for him and has precious lessons. Over and above all, he is a proud father to twins and a husband too.