"It was a shock to my system"- Usain Bolt opens up about his World Championships 100m disqualification

Former Jamaican track athlete Usain Bolt opened up about his immediate reaction after facing a disqualification in the 100m final race of the 2011 World Championships. Bolt arrived in the finals of the competition after an impressive showdown in the semis, where he won the race after clocking 10.05 seconds.

However, come the finals, Jamaica was cited for a false start and was disqualified from the race. Winning this race could have helped him defend the 100m title that he won in 2009, but as things turned out, his Jamaican teammate Yohan Blake won it instead (9.92 seconds).

In an interview 14 years later, Bolt shared that he was shocked by the incident, as he had been severely focused on the race. He further added that he was only thinking about this disqualification and felt lost momentarily. He said (via Puma's Go Wild podcast, 6:02 onwards):

"Actually, I was so focused, I couldn't believe what had happened. It was a shock to my system, when it happened I was like, "what did i just do?" I was like no. So I wasn't even listening or thinking about anything else, I couldn't focus on anything else. I could not tell you how somebody's face was looking or anything, I was just like, what did I do? I wasn't one of those athletes to go, oh I need to stay in there, so I didn't fuss."

Despite a setback in the 100m event, Usain Bolt continued his good run in the 200m distance, which he won in 19.40 seconds. Notably, he also helped the Jamaican 4x100m relay team win gold during this competition in Daegu.

Usain Bolt shares his thoughts on running the 400m

Usain Bolt (Image via: Getty)

Usain Bolt shared his stance on competing in a 400m race in his decorated career. Bolt had run a few 400m events during his junior career, including the 2002 CAC Junior Championships, where he won the gold medal in the event. He also won the U20 Carifta Games in 2003.

During his appearance on the Ready Set Go podcast with Justin Gatlin and Rodney Green, Bolt stated that he never had a desire to run the 400m distance and called the 200m his favorite event. He said (00:02 onwards):

"There' no I want to be like this guy, I just never wanted to run the 400m. The fear of the 400m, I just didn't want to do it. The 200m is my favorite event, that's the one I love."

Speaking of his favorite 200m event, Usain Bolt has won laurels over this distance at several levels, including the World Junior Championships, CAC Championships, World Championships, and Olympics.