Usain Bolt explains how Justin Gatlin unknowingly played a role

Usain Bolt has explained how Justin Gatlin indirectly motivated his victory at his final Olympic Games in 2016 in Rio.

Jamaican sprint legend Usain Bolt has recalled how Justin Gatlin indirectly played a role in his victory at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

The Rio Olympics were Usain Bolt’s final Olympic Games and he revealed that he did not have the psyche to train or even go to the gym. The 11-time world champion revealed that he had accomplished everything in his track career and did not see the need to train for his final Olympics.

However, as he was going about his business one day, the eight-time Olympic champion came across a video of Justin Gatlin explaining how he was going to beat him and he would do a world tour after silencing the legendary sprinter.

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To showcase his competitiveness, Usain Bolt could not allow that to happen under his watch and he decided to go back into training and out in the work. On race day, Usain Bolt stamped authority once again, winning the men’s 100m and 200m and anchoring the Jamaican relay team to victory for one last time on the Olympic stage.

“I remember in 2016, coming up to my last Olympics, and my biggest competitor was Justin Gatlin and throughout the year, I was struggling with motivation because I had won everything and it was at the end and I was just tired and every day was just work and I got injured and it was double the work and it was hard to motivate myself every day,” Usain Bolt told High Performance.

“I remember watching a video that he was on a podcast at the time and they were saying the way he was going to win and go on a tour around the world and that did it for me. It ignited a fire and I was like yeah, you are not going to win. That’s how competitive I was and I knew that if I probably didn’t see that video, it would have been different but I saw that video and it helped motivate me to get to training because there was no way I would allow him to beat me.”

He added that despite Justin Gatlin being one of greatest rivals, he remains one of his favourite athlete. Usain Bolt explained that his pre-race stunts would always make his days and he loved watching him.

Eventually, Justin Gatlin had the last laugh at the 2017 World Championships in London where he beat Usain Bolt. After the men’s 100m, Usain Bolt pulled up with a hamstring injury towards the end of the 4x100m relay and that was the last time he raced competitively.

“I always enjoy watching Justin and it’s fun for me to see him in his element because he does this thing where he walks back and fourth like a mad person and I always find it funny and amusing,” he added.