'It’s the only thing I missed'-Usain Bolt opens up about his untouched milestone

Usain Bolt has shared his lingering dream of running under 19 seconds, reflecting on his career’s near-perfect moments and challenges.

On the day when Jamaican sprint legend Usain Bolt stepped off the track for the final time the world celebrated the unparalleled career of the eight-time Olympic gold medalist.

Yet, seven years into retirement, the 38-year-old still carries a lingering thought—a feat he dreamed of but could not achieve: breaking the elusive 19-second barrier in the 200 meters.

Now a father of three and a global icon beyond athletics, Bolt continues to reflect on the race that never was.

The 200 meters has always been his favorite event, the one where his long strides felt most at home.

Despite holding the world record of 19.19 seconds set in 2009, Bolt admits there was one more frontier he wished to conquer.

“I would have loved to have run under 19 seconds,” he revealed in a candid conversation with Esquire magazine.

“That’s the only thing that I missed. That would’ve been something.”

Bolt’s career is a catalog of unmatched brilliance. From his jaw-dropping 9.58 seconds in the 100 meters to his domination across three consecutive Olympics, he redefined what human speed could look like.

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Yet, perfection has always eluded even the fastest man on Earth. His relentless pursuit of the 200-meter milestone became an obsession, fueled by an insatiable drive for self-improvement.

“Every time I broke the world record, I felt like I ran a perfect race,” he said.

“But my coach always found a fault. To this day, I don’t think I’ve ever run a perfect race for him.”

Bolt’s bid for 18.99 seconds came close several times. In 2009, after breaking the 19.30 mark in Beijing, he stunned the world by shaving off another 0.11 seconds in Berlin.

Still, the sub-19-second dream slipped just out of reach, hindered by factors Bolt couldn’t always control, including injuries and the limits of human endurance.

“I’ve always made goals,” Bolt said.

“Every year I would set a time target I would want to hit, and I’d try to win the world championships. That was always something. I was always pushing myself.”

But rivals were just as instrumental in pushing him to the brink of his physical capabilities.

From early competitors like Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell to the emergence of his training partner Yohan Blake, Bolt’s career thrived on the challenge of outpacing his peers.

“There was always someone who was a rival,” he said.

“You need that to push you. If I miss a day of training, they’re going to be gaining on me. It makes you want to make sure you train every day.”

Reflecting on those years of intense competition and grueling training, Bolt acknowledges his scoliosis as one of the biggest hurdles he had to overcome.

Learning to manage his body took time and patience, and injuries often robbed him of his chance to push boundaries even further.

“I didn’t understand how to deal with my scoliosis,” he admitted.

“Every time I started doing well, I’d get an injury.”

Today, Bolt channels his energy into fatherhood, holding out hope that one of his children might take up the baton.

“I’m not forcing it,” he laughs, “but who knows?”