Usain Bolt exclusive: His one regret, proving Michael Johnson wrong and playing pro football in Australia

Updated 24/04/2024 at 10:14 GMT

From fuelling his Olympic dream with chicken nuggets to playing professional football in Australia, few athletes have had a career as storied – and successful – as Usain Bolt. The sprint legend sat down with Eurosport to talk about his life in Jamaica, with the interview available to watch on The Power of the Olympics on Wednesday, April 24 on Eurosport 1 and discovery+ at 17:30 UK time.

Usain Bolt's 'Life in Numbers' – Chicken nuggets, world records and his one regret

Usain Bolt has revealed the one regret from his extraordinary career – not breaking the 19-second barrier over 200m.

The Jamaican is the fastest man in history over 100m (9.58s) and 200m (19.19s), with both times set at the 2009 World Athletics Championships in Berlin as he pushed the boundaries of sprinting to new limits.

However, speaking on episode two of The Power of the Olympics – available to watch at 17:30 UK time on Wednesday, April 24 on Eurosport 1 and discovery+ – Bolt confessed he wished he had gone even faster over the half-lap race.

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"I wish I had lowered this world record. That's something throughout my career I wish I had done," he told Eurosport at a Puma event in Jamaica.

"It was my favourite event. If I could have got under 19 seconds, it would have been a big milestone and I would have loved to have done that. If I had a regret in my career, it would be not running under 19 seconds."

Bolt also talked about his infamous diet of chicken nuggets at Beijing 2008, being stripped of an Olympic relay gold after a team-mate failed a drugs test and his professional football debut in Australia.

'Nuggets, nuggets, nuggets!' – The most unusual diet for gold

Bolt burst onto the global stage with world-record wins over 100m and 200m at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games – but it was his diet that arguably attracted the most attention.

He estimated that he ate around 1,000 chicken nuggets – and almost nothing else – during his time in the Athletes' Village, working out at around 100 each day.

"I had a lot. When I got to China, I remember we went to the cafeteria, and I was just walking around and I couldn't find anything that I liked. And then we found McDonald's and I got into that," he said.

"So I just had nuggets every day, just constantly nuggets, nuggets, nuggets! I had a lot of nuggets throughout my time in China."

Proving Michael Johnson wrong – and taking his world record

Bolt broke Michael Johnson's 200m world record in the Chinese capital and he admitted it was extra sweet given the legendary American had written off his chances before the event.

"It was the day before my birthday. They sang "Happy Birthday" to me at the stadium when I collected my medal the day after," he recalled.

"For me, it's my favourite event. I love to be the fastest man in the world but the 200m means a lot more to me because it's something that I worked very hard to perfect.

"I remember the video that he [Johnson] put out saying 'I don't think he's going to get it this trip'. And I got it, so it was even better!"

See how Usain Bolt broke the 100m world record in Beijing 2008 Olympic Games

His 'beautiful' 100m world record

One year later in Berlin, Bolt obliterated his own 100m world record of 9.69s by clocking 9.58s – the biggest WR time jump in the event since electronic timing was introduced.

"The world record was beautiful. I knew I was going to break the world record. For the first time I actually knew," he said.

"My focus was to win but I knew I was going to break the world record. We actually made a bet to see how fast I would run. It was just a beautiful moment and it's a part of my legacy."

Eight, not nine, Olympic golds

Bolt won the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay at three straight Olympics (Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Rio 2016) – but he was stripped of the relay gold medal from Beijing after Jamaican team-mate Nesta Carter was found guilty of doping.

"It's just one of those things. I'm not going to cry over it. It was sad when I found out one was going to be taken away, but what am I going to do?" said Bolt.

"For me, I did what I was supposed to do so it's fine."

He added: "This [winning eight Olympic golds] means a lot more to me than the world records.

"The fact that I dominated over the period of time that I did has never been done before and it's going to be hard to replicate. Winning the eight gold medals throughout my era means a lot more to me."

Playing professional football in Australia

On August 31, 2018, Bolt swapped spikes for studs as he made his professional football debut with Central Coast Mariners in a friendly – with the sprinter-turned-striker scoring twice on his first start for the club two months later.

https://www.instagram.com/usainbolt/p/Bo1LuB_Dt9g/

"That was an experience. I was really happy that I did it, it was something I had always wanted to do," he said.

"So the fact that I even got a taste of it, playing football, it meant a lot. It's so different but it was wonderful to actually have team-mates that you could actually hang out with, talk with, share with, because track and field is such an individual sport. The opportunity that I got I really loved and enjoyed."

A comeback in 2024?

So is Bolt tempted to return to the track to take on all-conquering American Noah Lyles at Paris 2024?

"No! It's too late for that, man. I think I had to come back it would have been like two years after, maybe the last Olympics, but it's too late now," he laughed.

"I'm retired, I'm too happy drinking and hanging out. My kids keep me busy!"

He added: "I'm excited because it's the first time I'm going to go to the Olympics and actually watch. I get to bring my family which is also wonderful.

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