Injury anxieties grow, but Bolt says ‘sport needs me to win’

LONDON — Whatever controversy is raging in the Olympic world there’s one constant: Usain Bolt’s bravado and selfconfidence.

It’s what is expected from the world’s fastest man and greatest showman. “I know the sport needs me to win — and come out on top,” Bolt asserts, assessing the damage caused by the Russian doping scandal that has divided sports leaders.

As for his pursuit of a treble Olympic treble next month, Bolt adamantly responds: “I’m not going to lose one of the golds, for sure.”

Before heading to Rio de Janeiro, Bolt spent around two hours over a Jamaican lunch last week in London, discussing his Olympic challenge prospects and the challenges of life.

When letting his guard down does Bolt sounded less invincible. Weighing on the Jamaican sprinter’s mind is the fear of hitting 30 next month, the toll of injuries — and even being caught up in an extremist attack. “It is scary,” said Bolt, adopting a rare subdued tone. “But if you live scared, you don’t live at all. So I try to live my life to the fullest and when it’s my time, it’s my time.”

Bolt recalls being in Munich as news emerged of the truck attack in the French city of Nice on Bastille Day — July 14 — that killed 84 people. Munich was itself the scene of bloodshed last week with a teenager shot dead nine people.

Bolt usually goes to Munich every three months to visit his doctor, Hans-Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfahrt.

“Especially at the start of last year I noticed that injuries take a little bit more time to get back to where you want to be,” Bolt said.

“My coach always tells me that the older you get it’s going to get harder, and you have to push yourself.”

But coach Glenn Mills also offered him comforting reassurance Bolt still craves, despite being the 100- and 200-meter world record holder.

Bolt remembers Mills telling him “don’t worry you’re a champ” at the world championships last year.

It was “one of the roughest years,” Bolt said, explaining how his back issue “has really deteriorated over the years.”

Bolt’s preparations for the defense of his Olympic titles (100-, 200- and 4x100-meter relay) have been far from smooth, with a hamstring injury forcing him out of the Jamaican trials.