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Jamaican sprint legend Usain Bolt has showered praise on his legendary coach Glen Mills, lauding him for changing his life since their first meeting 20 years ago.
Jamaican sprint legend Usain Bolt has paid tribute to his coach Glen Mills who shaped into the revered sprinter that he turned out to be.
Bolt is considered the greatest sprinter in history, having won eight Olympics gold medals and 10 world titles, while he is the current world record holder in 100m and 200m, both set at the 2009 World Championships.
All these are the works of Mills, who started working with Bolt when he was 18, shortly after the 2004 Athens Olympics.
At the time, Bolt was a 200m runner but his new coach convinced him to try out the 400m if he could improve his stamina. However, with the upcoming competition, there was no time to train for the 400m and the young sprinter asked his coach if he could try out 100m instead.
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After the sprinter impressed at the 2007 Jamaican Championships, Mills accepted his prodigy’s request and the two started working on techniques for the 100m especially on his stride and balancing.
At the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, Japan, Bolt did not compete in 100m but won silver in 200m and also 4x100m relay with team Jamaica.
It set the stage for what would be a historic 2008 Beijing Olympics. Ahead of the Games, Bolt and Mills agreed to a two-part training programme, the coach helping the sprinter work on his speed for the 100m, then turn his focus to the stamina needed for 200m.
It paid dividends as Bolt went on to win Olympics gold in both 100m and 200m and broke world records in both, running 9.69 seconds and 19.30 seconds respectively. It was hard to ignore Bolt at this point.
However, before the Beijing Olympics, Blot had endured heartbreaking losses as a teenager. He exited the 200m heats at the Athens Games and finished eighth at the 2005 World Championships over the distance.
To encourage him, Mills coined the now popular quote, telling Bolt: “If you want to learn how to win, you must first learn how to lose.”
Those worlds fueled Bolt to success and since his Beijing heroics, he never looked back, breaking his own world records at the 2009 Worlds, when he ran 9.58 and 19.19 in 100m and 200m respectively, records that stand to date.
He remained unchallenged in both 100m and 200m until he retired in 2017 and looking back now, 20 years later, Bolt is grateful that he met Mills.
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‘I could run 1:40’ - Why Marco Arop feels he can break David Rudisha’s world record & where he could possibly do it
World 800m champion Marco Arop has explained why he feels he has the capabilities to lower David Rudha’s 13-year world record, shedding light on the possible event to do it from.
“Shout out to my coach and mentor Glen Mills - 20 years ago I started working with this legend and it would change the course of my career and life,” Bolt posted on X.
“When I first came onto the professional scene as a sprinter I thought it would be easy… He taught me the importance of learning from losing before I could get to the top. Infinite respect to Coach Mills for everything you taught me - Living legend.”
Mills still continues doing what he loves, with Oblique Seville now among the sprinters under his stable, but whether he will unearth another Bolt remains to be seen.
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