Legend? Rogge thinks otherwise
Source: Agencies |
August 11, 2012, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
JAMAICA'S Usain Bolt sprinted into the pantheon of Olympic greats on Thursday as he became the only man to ever retain the 100m and 200m titles, sealing his remarkable feat with typical nonchalance.
As he approached the line Bolt, finishing ahead of Yohan Blake and Warren Weir for a Jamaican sweep, put his finger to his lips to hush the crowd as he eased up and crossed in 19.32sec.
Afterwards, Bolt dropped to the deck and did press-ups, grabbed a camera from a press photographer and took pictures of Blake, hugged fans, celebrating an achievement which puts him ahead of greats such as Carl Lewis and Jesse Owens.
"This is the one I wanted and I got it. I'm now a legend, I'm also the greatest athlete to live," Bolt said. "I've got nothing left to prove. I've showed the world I'm the best and, right now, I just want to enjoy myself."
Despite a troubled build-up, Bolt won the 100m with ease on Sunday and he will now also be favorite to retain his third title in the 4x100m relay.
But the IOC President Jacques Rogge sees things differently.
"The career of Usain Bolt has to be judged when the career stops," Rogge said. "If you look at the career of Carl Lewis, he had (four) consecutive games with a medal.
"Let Usain Bolt be free of injury," Rogge said. "Let him keep his motivation which I think will be the case ... Let him participate in three, four games, and he can be a legend.
"Already he's an icon."
In Beijing, Rogge chastised Bolt for showboating and showing a lack of respect to his fellow competitors after his 100 and 200 races, comments which led to criticism of the IOC president for appearing to be out of touch.
Long period
Rogge, who was speaking before the 200m final, said achieving Olympic success over a long period is crucial.
"What Michael Phelps has done in Beijing (eight gold medals) and what Usain Bolt has done now ... this is something that you will not forget," he said. "This is something exceptional. I think that achieving to win a medal in consecutive games is a great performance. The time factor is so important.
"You have to be there, you have to be at the top for almost 20 years which is a great achievement," he said.
For Bolt though, Beijing and London were "my time".
The future, he said, was for compatriots Yohan Blake and Warren Weir. But he warned that repeating his feats at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro could be a tough call.
"I'm not going to retire yet. I think when I get to 30 I will be thinking about retiring.
"I love this sport. I have got all my success through this sport. I got all my fans through this sport," Bolt said.
"I have made my goal, now I have to sit down and make another one."
As he approached the line Bolt, finishing ahead of Yohan Blake and Warren Weir for a Jamaican sweep, put his finger to his lips to hush the crowd as he eased up and crossed in 19.32sec.
Afterwards, Bolt dropped to the deck and did press-ups, grabbed a camera from a press photographer and took pictures of Blake, hugged fans, celebrating an achievement which puts him ahead of greats such as Carl Lewis and Jesse Owens.
"This is the one I wanted and I got it. I'm now a legend, I'm also the greatest athlete to live," Bolt said. "I've got nothing left to prove. I've showed the world I'm the best and, right now, I just want to enjoy myself."
Despite a troubled build-up, Bolt won the 100m with ease on Sunday and he will now also be favorite to retain his third title in the 4x100m relay.
But the IOC President Jacques Rogge sees things differently.
"The career of Usain Bolt has to be judged when the career stops," Rogge said. "If you look at the career of Carl Lewis, he had (four) consecutive games with a medal.
"Let Usain Bolt be free of injury," Rogge said. "Let him keep his motivation which I think will be the case ... Let him participate in three, four games, and he can be a legend.
"Already he's an icon."
In Beijing, Rogge chastised Bolt for showboating and showing a lack of respect to his fellow competitors after his 100 and 200 races, comments which led to criticism of the IOC president for appearing to be out of touch.
Long period
Rogge, who was speaking before the 200m final, said achieving Olympic success over a long period is crucial.
"What Michael Phelps has done in Beijing (eight gold medals) and what Usain Bolt has done now ... this is something that you will not forget," he said. "This is something exceptional. I think that achieving to win a medal in consecutive games is a great performance. The time factor is so important.
"You have to be there, you have to be at the top for almost 20 years which is a great achievement," he said.
For Bolt though, Beijing and London were "my time".
The future, he said, was for compatriots Yohan Blake and Warren Weir. But he warned that repeating his feats at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro could be a tough call.
"I'm not going to retire yet. I think when I get to 30 I will be thinking about retiring.
"I love this sport. I have got all my success through this sport. I got all my fans through this sport," Bolt said.
"I have made my goal, now I have to sit down and make another one."
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
