He may be ranked only equal 18th in the world after his slowest ever 100 metres time last month, but Usain Bolt’s rivals would be unwise to get too carried away with their prospects of toppling the fastest man on the planet.
Ominously, the triple Olympic champion was talking yesterday not just about his excitement at opening his European season at tomorrow’s Rome Golden Gala but also about his goal of dominating the global sprint scene until Rio 2016 and beyond.
“I think I have four more years left in the sport, so now it’s all about dominating for those four years,” said Bolt, who confirmed he was fully recovered from an early-season hamstring strain.
“I’m looking forward to the next Olympics to do something that’s never been done before. That’s one of my biggest goals right now. And for the next four years I will try to dominate the sport and show people that it’s possible to go on being the best, year in, year out.”
Olympic 100m bronze medallist Justin Gatlin predicted that the battle for sprinting supremacy could be a “dogfight” this season, following Bolt’s lacklustre time of 10.09 sec in the Cayman Invitational on May 9. That is quicker than any Briton this year but positively funereal by Bolt’s standards. The season reaches its climax at the World Championships in Moscow in August.
Gatlin, second quickest in the world this year behind Tyson Gay with a time of 9.91sec, will have his first chance to snap at Bolt’s heels when the pair clash in Rome’s Olympic Stadium.
However, though there was nothing in the Jamaican’s demeanour yesterday to suggest he was in the slightest bit perturbed by his rival’s talk as he clowned for photographers in front of a poster of himself wearing a crown and clutching a sceptre.
The American did, after all, make similar noises a year ago, and was put firmly in his place at the London Olympics. “Over the years I guess there are many things that a lot of people could say about Justin Gatlin,” said Bolt. “He’s proved this season that he’s really getting into great shape but I try never to worry about one athlete.
“My focus is always the championships, and one-off runs are never the biggest thing for me. I always go to a championship to prove myself.
“He’s said a lot this season already, but for me it’s normal because a lot of athletes always talk a lot. It’s about when you show up and prove yourself to be the best at a championship. That’s what matters.”
Bolt insists he will be taking this season just as seriously as he did the last, particularly because he has a world title to regain after his disqualification for a false start in the 100m final at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu, South Korea.
“I ran against the best field last season at the Olympics and I beat all of them, but this season is a different season and I’ll be taking it just like the Olympics because there’s a World Championship that I’ll be focusing on,” he said.
“I’m definitely looking forward to the challenge. I thrive on challenges. Everyone’s going to bring their 'A’ game to the championship and I’m looking forward to it because running against the best is always a joy, so that I can show the world I’m the best.”
Bolt, who is making his third successive appearance at the Rome meeting, which this year has been dedicated to the late Italian sprinting great Pietro Mennea, will be hoping for a repeat of last season when he bounced back from a below-par performance in Ostrava, in the Czech Republic, to clock a supercharged 9.76 sec in the Italian capital.
He said he and his coach, Glen Mills, had dissected his poor showing in Grand Cayman and been working hard to put it right.
“I’ve done a lot of work on my speed endurance for the last couple of weeks and my starts, so everything is starting to come together,” he said.
“My coach is happy and I’m feeling in good shape.”