Usain Bolt finally explains why he snubbed Paris Olympics

The fastest man in history, Usain Bolt, has admitted that he decided against attending the Paris 2024 Olympics due to injury concerns.

Bolt suffered a severe fall during a charity football match organized by UNICEF on June 9, which resulted in a significant Achilles tendon injury.

Despite his legendary status, with eight Olympic gold medals and still holding three world records, Bolt had to abandon his plans to attend this year's Games as a spectator.

Opening up about his decision on the "High Performance" podcast, Bolt explained that the injury altered his plans, as he did not want to draw attention by arriving in the stands on crutches.

"I was supposed to go with my family, but I injured myself. I was playing a charity game—a football match—for soccer for UNICEF, and I ruptured my Achilles. I didn't want to go on crutches. It would have been my first time going without competing, so it would look weird for people to see me on TV on crutches. So, I just thought, you know what, let me stay home," he said.

Although Bolt is retired from competition, he shared that missing the Games still stings, especially since he also missed the crowdless Tokyo Olympics.

He went on to reveal that his decision to retire from competitive sprinting was largely influenced by the increasing number of athletes posting faster times, marking a shift he couldn't ignore.

"And it's a fact because a lot of guys aren't getting faster. I had pushed the barrier so far, and then I started going backward time-wise. So for me, 9.80 was possible, but it was getting harder."

Bolt, who made his Olympic debut at the 2004 Athens Games, where he exited in the first round, announced himself on the global stage at the 2008 Beijing Games, winning both the 100m and 200m in world record times.

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He went on to achieve further glory at the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Olympics, becoming the first man to claim the 100m and 200m double three times in a row. He also added a couple of 4x100m relay titles to his collection.

Bolt may have felt some relief in not attending the Paris Games, as Jamaica had one of their worst performances, failing to win an Olympic track title. Their only gold medal came from the discus throw, a rare occurrence for the Caribbean nation known for its sprinting dominance.

In a stunning athletic display in Paris, USA's Noah Lyles won the men's 100m race, falling just short of Bolt's world record. With ambitions of surpassing Bolt's record by the 2024 Olympics, Lyles clocked a remarkable 9.79 seconds to take gold.

Yet even with this victory, Lyles was unable to break Bolt's staggering world record of 9.58 seconds or his Olympic best of 9.69.

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