Sprinting masters Bolt, Gatlin in Beijing championships build-up

Sprint supremo Usain Bolt says he is taking his time building up to August’s Beijing world championships and is looking forward to an explosive showdown there against American Justin Gatlin.

Bolt said he is ramping up, coming off an injury plagued season, but should be in high gear for the championships and ready to silence the confident Gatlin.

“I find a lot of stuff that he says really funny because I think he’s trying to get a reaction out of me,” Bolt told Reuters with a chuckle in an interview on Thursday (June 11) outside a reception at Nasdaq headquarters ahead of Saturday’s adidas Grand Prix on New York’s Randall’s Island.

“For me, it’s whatever. I’ve been through it. All the people been saying what they’re going to do: they’re going to break my records; they’re going to beat me. I’ve been dealing with it for years now. So for me, it’s nothing. I enjoy this.”

“I look forward to competing when people talk … because if you don’t back it up you look really stupid,” said the first man to win six Olympic gold medals in sprinting and an eight-time world champion.

Gatlin, 33, has run the fastest 100 meters this year and been talking a big game, claiming to be “the man to beat”.

Bolt is running the 200 meters on Saturday as he focuses on that event this season while frustrating many track fans eager to see how he would measure up in a duel against Gatlin.

The Jamaican world record holder in the 100 and 200, looking slender in a black suit and dark blue shirt, said he was not yet in shape for a showdown duel but looked forward to it.

“Afraid? When people say that, I laugh. I’ve been in the sport for years and I’ve never dodged anybody. When it matters, I’ve always showed up and shown that I’m the best,” Bolt said.

“Fact is, I’m not in the best of shape and I’m not going to put myself out there if I know I’m just coming back and I need time to get back to where I need to be. When I get to Beijing I’ll be ready to go and that’s when the showdown will be.”

2008 jaw-dropping world record

Bolt said the suspense of how the sprinters shaped up against one another could help build interest in Beijing.

“People can look forward to the championship. What’s going to happen?” he said. “Justin is running good, Tyson (Gay) is running good, Asafa (Powell) is running good, Usain is running good.

“So when we come to the championship, it’s going to be like an explosion.”

Bolt is returning to race in New York for the first time since setting his first jaw-dropping 100 meters world record at the meet in 2008. He recalled the race fondly calling it a the “game-changer” when people began to take notice of him.

Bolt said his return to New York seven years later as the established king of sprinting provided a different script as he continues his return to form after last year’s injury-hobbled season.

“For me, it’s just all about trying to stay injury-free. I remember 2012, I was off and I got close to the world record then, so if everything went smoothly I knew that I would have a chance. So, this is why I stress this season that I need to make sure this season I don’t get injuries so I can actually go into next season, an Olympic season, fresh and ready to go from the start and I don’t have to start from scratch again,” he said.

And the end goal? Just to be remembered as one of the “greatest athletes to ever live”.

“Not only in track and field, but as in all sports. I want to be remembered like a Muhammad Ali and a Pele, Maradona, all these guys. This is what. . . this is where I want my name to be remembered, written down in history, so that’s what I’m working on,” he finished.