"My sponsors and fans pressured me" - Usain Bolt admits he wanted to quit sooner but delayed retirement

Track legend Usain Bolt has revealed that he felt forced to compete for one more year due to pressure from his sponsors and fans. Bolt had initially planned to retire after the 2016 Rio Olympics, where he won three gold medals, taking his overall tally to eight Olympic golds. He decided against retiring and competed at the 2017 World Championships, where he won a bronze medal in the 100m.

Bolt also competed as part of the 4x100m Jamaican Relay team, however, he pulled up with a hamstring injury during the finals. This was his last race before retirement, with the Jamaican going on to say that the physical challenges over the years was one of the reasons he chose to retire. Bolt also said he felt that he had achieved everything he could have in the sport.

In an interview with The Times, Bolt said:

"I wanted to retire the year before I did. My main goal was to win three Olympics. Once I had done that, I wanted to hang my boots up. I told myself I needed to retire after the Olympics. But my sponsors and fans pressured me. They were like, “You should come back.” It was a rough season. I didn’t have the motivation I usually did."

Usain Bolt competed at several events during the 2017 season, such as the Monaco Diamond League as well as the Golden Spike in Ostrava. He won the 100m in both meetings. Bolt's third place finish in the event at the World Championships that year marked the first time he finished third in a major international competition.

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Usain Bolt makes feelings known on relocating Notting Hill Carnival

Usain Bolt attended the Notting Hill Carnival this year - Source: Getty

Usain Bolt recently made his feelings known on the relocation of the popular Carribean carnival event known as the Notting Hill Carnival. The carnival is hosted in Notting Hill, London and has been taking place annually since 1966. Bolt attended the carnival for the first time this year on August 24, also partnering with Puma at the carnival.

According to the Guardian, Bolt said he disagreed with any plans to relocate the Notting Hill Carnival:

“To take something that’s so big and so cultural for years, to lose something like that, I think will definitely damage the culture itself.

"For something [like that] to just go down, that’s going to really impact culture and people in general. Because, even before I’ve gone to Notting Hill carnival, I’ve heard about it so many times. It’s something you see on TV, your friends tell you about it, and say: ‘You should come. It’s a different vibe.’”

Proposals were made to move the Notting Hill Carnival to Hyde Park, due to the increasing number of people planning to attend the event.