Bolt not returning in spite of comeback temptation

Eight-time Olympic sprint champion, Usain Bolt is not contemplating a return to athletics in spite of feeling the temptation for a comeback.

Bolt ended his career on the tracks in 2017, calling it quits at the age of 31 after a spate of hamstring injuries.

One  of such injuries curtailed his efforts in what was supposed to be the Jamaican’s final race at the 2017 world championships in London.

It was not the glorious conclusion he might have hoped for, Bolt still left sprinting as the world record-holder in the 100 metres, 200m and 4x100m relay.

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His  exploits on the tracks saw him collect a remarkable eight Olympic gold medals and 11 world titles.

Back in August 2018, Bolt began training with an Australian football club, the Central Coast Mariners, and he scored twice in a friendly before being offered a contract.

He ultimately left the Mariners in November and declared two months later that he was done with all sports.

However, the thought of a U-turn did cross his mind later in 2019 ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.

However, his coach urged Bolt to resist such a temptation, seemingly denying the world another opportunity to see the legendary sprinter in action at another Olympic Games.

Asked if he was contemplating, a comeback at the age of 35, Bolt said: “It’s too late. If I were going to come back, it would have been to be for this Olympics.

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“When I told my coach I was going to retire he sat me down and said, ‘when you retire, that’s it. I’m not doing any comeback tours, nothing. So, make sure you are ready to retire’.

“I remember I went to him in 2019 and said, ‘what do you think about coming back for the Olympics?’ And he looked at me and said, ‘don’t even start’.

“So, if it’s not my coach, I’m not going to do it, because I believe in him and if he says ‘no’, it’s ‘no’. But I’ve got that itch though.”