Usain Bolt targets ‘three-peat’ gold success at Rio
Usain Bolt says he plans to defend his sprint titles at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games rather than trying a different event, as he had previously suggested.
The Jamaican, who declared himself a “living legand” after winning the 100m and 200m gold medals at London 2012, said he is focusing on a “three-peat” of gold medals.
Bolt burst onto the atheltics scene at the Beijing Games in 2008, where he won the 100m and 200m golds as well as the 100m relay gold with his team-mates. The same medals were won this year in London.
The sprinter has previously suggested that he could try a different discipline, such as long jump, at the 2016 games. But speaking on a trip to New Zealand, Bolt said he wanted to show the world that he could win the top sprint accolades for a third time.
“Rio is about going and defending my titles,” he said. “I don’t want to try any different events at Rio, because at Rio I will just defend my titles to show the world that there is a possibility that I can do it again. To do the three-peat, that is the focus.”
Going faster
Bolt’s main focus for next year are the World Championships in Moscow, and he claimed he would not be taking things easy now the Olympics are over.
He said: “When I was doing great when I was young, people used to say I was fast for my age, but I have put a lot of work into since I was a senior athlete.
“I continue to work hard, continue staying focused and pushing myself so for me that’s the focus right now to see how fast I can go and I definitely try to go faster each year.”