USAIN BOLT MAKES A NAME FOR HIMSELF AT THE WORLD JUNIORS
Bolt had to prove himself in front of a home crowd to get his career out of the blocks
People often ask which race from my
KAI LENNY CATCHES career means the most to me. They’re usually surprised to learn that it wasn’t
HIS FIRST WAVE taking gold in London or Rio, but the 200m at the World Junior Championships in 2002. The competition was held in my home country in Kingston, and I was 15 years old. I remember the wall of noise coming from the Jamaican fans in the stadium. The atmosphere was electric. I have rarely suffered with nerves at global events since, but that day I could barely think straight. I actually put my spikes on the wrong feet. The World Juniors is for athletes under 20 years old, so at 15 I could easily have felt out of my depth. I went on to win, but the moments after crossing the line are what stay in my mind. The crowd was going berserk so I saluted them. It’s still one of my favourite race photos. I told myself as I stood there that if I can win in front of my home fans, I should never worry about running at a big event.