Usain Bolt has said he aims to crown his legacy with an unprecedented Olympic threepeat at the Rio Games, and to top that off by running the first ever sub-19 seconds 200 metres.
The Jamaican sprint superstar said he might not stop there, leaving open the chance to extend his career beyond the 2017 season he previously said would be his last.
Bolt has already swept the 100m and 200m sprints at the last two Olympics and added gold in the 4x100m relays in both Beijing (2008) and London (2012) with his Jamaican teammates.
“Just to defend my titles, to do the threepeat. That’s my main goal. That’s my main focus,” Bolt told Reuters.
“My secondary goal is to try to run sub-19. That’s something I really want and I hope that everything goes smoothly and I can get it. That would be a big step for me.”
Bolt said he has been gradually rounding into shape after dealing with ankle problems.
“I’m feeling OK,” he said. “My coach says my fitness is not exactly where he wants it to be.
“Starting out this season I had a problem with my ankles and it was a setback but not that bad. We’re getting back on track and he’s happy with the progress I’m making.”
See also: Usain Bolt has 'really stepped up the tempo' in bid to be ready for Rio Olympics
Related: Usain Bolt: 'I'm more focused' than Justin Gatlin ahead of training for 2016 Olympics
Bolt said he would ramp up his preparations carefully so he can end his Olympic career with a flourish.
“I really want to be at my best leading up to the championships. I have two months before (Jamaican) trials and three and a half months before the championships,” he said.
“I’ll keep pushing myself and hopefully everything smoothes out and I’ll be at my best when the Olympics comes around.”
Bolt, 29, said he would run his first race in Cayman, then in Ostrava and then to his coach’s June meet in Jamaica before the trials and then on to the Diamond League meeting in London.
He said his coach, Glen Mills, wanted him to leave the retirement door open.
“Coach says I shouldn’t say I want to retire just yet, I should focus on the year and see how I feel after the (2017) world championships (in London),” the six-time Olympic gold medallist said.
“And if I still feel like I want to retire, I should. But he says to give it a chance, because I think my coach is pushing for me to go a few more years. We’ll see what happens.
“Personally, I don’t really want to continue for years and years because it’s getting hard. I have to sacrifice more and more. It takes up so much of your time.”
In any event, Bolt said he would not treat 2017 like a farewell tour.
“I’m never going to come out and joke or be a joke in a season. I’m a winner. I believe in winning. I hate to lose. I will never come out and say it is a farewell tour. I will want to compete at my best, go to the championships and win again.”
As for the legacy he hoped to leave the sport he has dominated for eight years, Bolt spoke about another Hublot spokesman, 75-year-old football legend Pele.
“I met Pele today. For me, it was a dream come true,” Bolt said. “I’ve always said I want to be the greatest. I want to be like Pele and (Muhammad) Ali and all those guys.
“I want to be great. I want to be remembered as one of the greatest that have ever done the sport.”
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Profile of Tarabut Gateway
Founder: Abdulla Almoayed
Based: UAE
Founded: 2017
Number of employees: 35
Sector: FinTech
Raised: $13 million
Backers: Berlin-based venture capital company Target Global, Kingsway, CE Ventures, Entrée Capital, Zamil Investment Group, Global Ventures, Almoayed Technologies and Mad’a Investment.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Price, base: Dh201,153
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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Other ways to buy used products in the UAE
UAE insurance firm Al Wathba National Insurance Company (AWNIC) last year launched an e-commerce website with a facility enabling users to buy car wrecks.
Bidders and potential buyers register on the online salvage car auction portal to view vehicles, review condition reports, or arrange physical surveys, and then start bidding for motors they plan to restore or harvest for parts.
Physical salvage car auctions are a common method for insurers around the world to move on heavily damaged vehicles, but AWNIC is one of the few UAE insurers to offer such services online.
For cars and less sizeable items such as bicycles and furniture, Dubizzle is arguably the best-known marketplace for pre-loved.
Founded in 2005, in recent years it has been joined by a plethora of Facebook community pages for shifting used goods, including Abu Dhabi Marketplace, Flea Market UAE and Arabian Ranches Souq Market while sites such as The Luxury Closet and Riot deal largely in second-hand fashion.
At the high-end of the pre-used spectrum, resellers such as Timepiece360.ae, WatchBox Middle East and Watches Market Dubai deal in authenticated second-hand luxury timepieces from brands such as Rolex, Hublot and Tag Heuer, with a warranty.
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
SPECS
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Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
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Formula 2 race: 1:35pm
Formula 1 race: 5:10pm
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