OSTRAVA, CZECH REPUBLIC – Usain Bolt has dismissed any concerns over his fitness by stating that he wants to run fast over the 100m at the IAAF World Challenge Golden Spike meeting in Ostrava, on Friday (20).
The world record holder flew to Germany for treatment on a tight hamstring he sustained after his season opener at the Cayman Invitational last weekend, but the Jamaican sprinter has revealed that he’s feeling much better.
“I had a tight hamstring after my last race,” admits Bolt. “But I went to see a doctor and I’m feeling much better now.”
The sprint icon also says he’s happy about being able to start racing competitively early this campaign.
“I know that the more I run, the better I’ll get, so I’m happy that I started racing early this year,” the 29-year-old said.
“If I can continue on the right path to the Olympics, I definitely think world records are possible in Rio.
“I really want to run sub-19 in the 200m; that’s my focus.”
Bolt started his Olympic preparations with a pedestrian-like 10.05 seconds victory in the Cayman Islands last Saturday, but he thinks that if the weather cooperates, he could run a world-leading 100m time at the Golden Spike event on Friday evening.
“I was promised the weather would be good,” he said. “Hopefully I can run a 9.8; I’d be happy with that.”
The six-time Olympic champion, who won three successive gold medals at the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Games, respectively, says he’s targeting another three-peat, as he looks to close out what is expected to be his Olympic career in Rio, Brazil, later this summer.
Bolt owns the world record for the 100m, at 9.58 secs and the 200m mark, at 19.19 – both set in 2009 at the IAAF World Championships in Berlin, Germany.
