‘I can never understand why’ – Usain Bolt slams track & field stars opting for ‘shortcuts’ through doping

Usain Bolt explaining his Manchester United frustration.

‘I can never understand why’ – Usain Bolt slams track & field stars opting for ‘shortcuts’ through doping

Joel Omotto 12:35 - 07.11.2024

Jamaican sprint great Usain Bolt has hit out at athletes who are tarnishing the image of track and field by using performance-enhancing substances.

Jamaican sprint legend Usain Bolt has weighed in on the weighty issue of doping among athletes which has tarnished the image of track and field.

Bolt says athletes are now opting to take shortcuts instead of harnessing their talent to reap the maximum benefits and this ends up proving costly as their careers do not last long.

“I can never understand why. A lot of people don’t want to wait their time. I personally feel that I got a talent, God gave me a talent and I think if you work on your talent and you’re really dedicated [you can] figure out how [you] can get better. [But] a lot of people didn’t take the time out to figure out ‘what I did wrong or what can I do better to get to the level’ because that’s what I did,” Bolt told the High Performance podcast recently.

“I struggled throughout the years to get to where I’m at but I figured it out like, ‘this is what I need to do, this is what is going to get me better’ and I think a lot of times [for] a lot of athletes the work is so hard, because it’s not easy, it’s very intense and full of injuries at times. And some people just don’t want to put the work in so it’s tough and sometimes the mental area that really drives you to go ‘let me try this’ instead of doing the work.”

Bolt won eight Olympics and 11 world titles while setting world records in both 100m (9.58) and 200m (19.19), which still stand 15 years later, while he also dealt with injuries that he managed well.

The Jamaican had to cope with scoliosis, a condition that has the spine abnormally curving sideways instead of being straight, but insists he never thought of using performance-enhancing substances to deal with it or any other setback.

“It was an issue that always bothered me throughout my career but it’s something I managed very well. It was a tough time but I had the right team, dedication, hard work, sacrifice and everything came together with time,” added the sprinter, who retired in 2017.

“The good thing about it is I found Dr Muller-Wohlfahrt from Germany that really understood how to help me manage. It wasn’t perfect, we still got injured every now and then but it helped to manage what was necessary.

“The moment you start using something to say, ‘this is why I’m not doing that’, then you’re always going to be behind the eighth ball. I still can compete, I still can be the best and I didn’t put limits on myself, so I kind of pushed through the hard times and understood that if I worked hard and I managed the scoliosis right then I’ll be fine.”

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