The fastest man on the planet can be frustratingly slow. Or maybe he was just running late. It's possible Usain Bolt was still on island time. At any rate, his scheduled appearance Monday at the Cidade das Artes - the lone time the world's most famous Olympian planned to appear in public before chasing history at these Summer Games - was several minutes behind schedule.
The carefree, jovial Jamaican superstar who turned the past two Olympics into his personal carnival has been conspicuously low-key in the days, weeks and months leading up to the Rio Games. He was injured and pulled out of his country's Olympic trials. In Rio de Janeiro, he could be found on social media, but just about nowhere else.
"I haven't gotten around much," he revealed later. "I just stay in my room."
But rest assured, where Bolt goes, a party follows, and his news conference Monday did not disappoint - from a freestyle-rapping Norwegian reporter, to Bolt taking a selfie with at least a thousand assembled reporters, to the scantily clad samba dancers decked out in giant feather headdresses and bikinis that would make Hugh Hefner blush.
Somehow in between all of that, he found time to talk a little about track. With his cap turned backward, Bolt finally walked onto the stage of the theater in Rio's Barra da Tijuca neighborhood. The reporters who had assembled from around the world correctly guessed they'd be treated to a show.
"First of all, you've got to clap louder than that," Bolt admonished them. "That was weak."
Bolt is expected to race the 100- and 200-meter races, as well as the 4x100 relay at these Rio Games. He won gold in those events at each of the past two Olympics, and if he can somehow pull off the three-peat he'd leave Rio de Janeiro with nine career gold medals, tying him with Carl Lewis and Finland's Paavo Nurmi for the track and field record.
The 29-year-old sprinter said again that this would be his last time competing on an Olympic stage.
"This is the last one for sure. I've done enough," Bolt said. "I've proven myself over and over again."
Bolt is recovering from a hamstring injury that forced him to withdraw five weeks ago from the Jamaican trials. He was granted a medical exemption to compete at the Rio Games for Jamaica's national team and Monday didn't express any concerns about the health of his hamstring.
"I'm in much better shape. I've gotten races in," he said. "I was really unhappy about not competing in trials because I need those runs. But I've been training well."
He has competed just once in recent months, racing the 200 at a Diamond League event in London barely two weeks ago. He won, posting a 19.89 finish, but that's only the world's seventh-best time of the year. Bolt said he called his coach, Glen Mills, following the race and asked, "How was it?"
"He was like, 'What do you think?'" Bolt recalled. "I was like, 'It was okay.' He was like, 'That's one of the worst races you've ever run.' It was like, What? 'Yeah, the corner was awful' - he just went on until I got depressed."
Bolt laughed as he recounted the conversation. It hasn't impacted his Rio goals. He wants three gold medals, he wants three more world records, he wants to run a 200 in under 19 seconds.
"I think it's going to be a little bit harder," he said, "because I missed out on trials and a few weeks of training . . . but you never know."
He is nearly seven years removed from his world record times in the 100- and 200-meter races, but he is still the man to beat every time he is in the starting blocks. He battled injuries most of last season and managed to win both sprints at the world championships in Beijing. He always posts his best times when the lights shine brightest. He is a showman that way.
"I like to entertain. I'm definitely a sprinter first, but I like to entertain," he said. "That's what people come out and see."
Everything about him is part-competition, part-performance. A reporter from Norway was given the microphone Monday and admitted he didn't have a question; he just loved Bolt. He then proceeded to offer a freestyle rap, which Bolt recorded on his phone while barreling over in laughter.
Finally, when the circus-like news conference was finished, Bolt stood on the stage and posed for the cameras. Drummers came up from behind followed by 10 samba dancers. Bolt didn't need any instructions. He began dancing with them.
For one final time, this was after all his show - the news conference, yes, but also these Olympics - and Jamaica's charismatic, uber-talented bolt of lightning intends to dance until it's time to leave the stage.
The Washington Post
Tue Aug 09 2016
Bolt is expected to race the 100- and 200-meter races, as well as the 4x100 relay at these Rio Games.
Agong zahir ucapan takziah kepada keluarga mangsa serangan Balai Polis Ulu Tiram
Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Ibrahim, menzahirkan rasa sedih dan merakamkan ucapan takziah kepada keluarga mangsa serangan Balai Polis Ulu Tiram, Johor.
'Sanusi bukan pengganas' - Peguam
Menurut peguam, Awang Armadajaya Awang Mahmud, Datuk Seri Sanusi merupakan seorang Menteri Besar Kedah, bukannya pengganas.
Balai Polis Ulu Tiram diserang: Dua polis maut, seorang cedera ditembak, ditetak
Bersama wakil Astro AWANI Johor, Siti Nur Aqiela Omar, untuk mendapatkan perkembangan terkini dari lokasi.
Presiden Kazakhstan nyatakan kesediaan tingkatkan interaksi, kerjasama dengan Malaysia
Presiden Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev menyatakan kesediaan negaranya untuk meningkatkan interaksi dan kerjasama dengan Malaysia semasa lawatan rasmi Perdana Menteri ke ibu negara Astana.
Reddit, OpenAI umum kerjasama, kandungan akan diintegrasikan dalam ChatGPT
Dalam pengumuman kerjasama ini, Reddit menjelaskan yang data-data dan kandungan merekan akan diintegrasikan ke dalam ChatGPT. Dengan
[TERKINI] Serang balai polis: Dua polis maut, seorang cedera ditembak dan ditetak
Dalam serangan awal pagi Jumaat di Balai Polis Ulu Tiram, Johor Bahru, dua anggota polis telah maut manakala seorang lagi cedera akibat ditembak dan ditetak oleh seorang lelaki yang disyaki. Suspek turut maut dalam kejadian jam 2.54 pagi tersebut. Ketua Polis Johor, Komisioner M. Kumar, mengesahkan insiden itu. Anggota polis yang cedera dibawa ke Hospital Sultan Ismail (HSI) untuk rawatan lanjut, sementara yang maut dibawa untuk proses bedah siasat. Ketua Polis Negara, Tan Sri Razarudin Husain, sedang dalam perjalanan ke lokasi kejadian.
Selepas 16 tahun, Onew bakal ke Malaysia 27 Julai
Pementasan Guess! Onew Fanmeeting 2024 In Malaysia akan berlangsung di Stadium Malawati, Shah Alam, Selangor.
Inflasi keseluruhan dijangka kekal sederhana pada 2.0-3.5 peratus tahun ini - BNM
Inflasi keseluruhan dan inflasi teras dijangka kekal sederhana tahun ini, masing-masing antara 2.0 peratus hingga 3.5 peratus dan antara 2.0 peratus hingga 3.0 peratus pada 2024.
Hari Guru: Tablet percuma untuk murid dan guru - Zahid
Ahmad Zahid berkata bajet pada tahun hadapan akan ditambah untuk pembelian perkakasan bagi melaksanakan kaedah pembelajaran melalui sistem digital.
4 lagi wartawan terbunuh dalam serangan Israel di Gaza
Empat lagi wartawan Palestin terbunuh dalam serangan terbaru Israel di Gaza menjadikan jumlah korban pengamal media kepada 147 orang.