LONDON (AP) – An encore for Usain Bolt? Unthinkable.
A loss in his going-away party? Impossible.
Track’s fastest man and greatest entertainer made both those points clear Tuesday leading to his final world championships this week. It was an engaging hour filled with reminisces, chats about his plans and thoughts about where his troubled and soon-to-be-starless sport might be headed.
Sporting the goatee he wears during world championships, but not the Olympics, the superstar who went 9 for 9 at the Summer Games, shattering records while dancing and smiling his way through the journey, dispensed any notion he might come back: “For me, the next championships should be fun because now it’s time to watch and see who can hold their nerves,” said the 11-time world champion, who turns 31 on Aug. 21.
As for the possibility he’d change his mind should he lose in Saturday night’s 100-meter final: “It’s not going to happen, so we won’t have that problem. Don’t worry,” he said.