Where Did Olympic Legend Usain Bolt First Learn to Run So Fast?

At just 17 years old, Usain Bolt became a professional sprinter and made his debut at the CARIFTA Games in Bermuda. Since then, the Jamaican grew in prominence, establishing himself as arguably the greatest sprinter in history.

While millions across the world know about his legacy on the track, not as much know about his journey to get there. During a recent interview, the 35-year-old spoke about the activity which made him start running fast.

Usain Bolt reveals what part of his childhood inspired him to run

On August 21, 1986, Usain was born to Wellesley and Jennifer Bolt in the small town of Sherwood Content, Jamaica. Growing up, he often ate the staples of households in the Caribbean country.

In a recent interview with The Guardian, the 35-year-old spoke about the kind of food which featured in the Bolt household. He said, “I was brought up in Sherwood Content, a small country town in northwest Jamaica.

“Like every Jamaican household on a Sunday, we’d have rice, peas and fried chicken… My dad had a farm where he would grow yam, banana and potatoes, so we ate a lot of ground food.”

However, he had a cunning side to him when it came to fruit trees. While mentioning how he enjoyed fruits, he revealed how the need to run away from others’ orchards taught him to run as quickly as he could.

“Fruit trees were the best things,” said the Jamaican. “We could get mangos, apples, guavas and anything you could think of straight off the tree without having to say, ‘Mum, I’m hungry.’ Sometimes you’d go to a mango orchard that you knew you shouldn’t be in and someone would chase you out. That’s where I got my first taste of running away as fast as I could.”

READ MORE: What Was the Top Speed Olympic Legend Usain Bolt Could Hit in a Race?

Bolt won eight Olympic gold medals in his illustrious career

The Jamaican sprinter made his Olympic debut in the 2004 Athens Olympics. Although he lost the men’s 100m race that year, it would remain his only Olympic loss. The next three Olympic Games in Beijing, London and Rio saw Bolt’s legend grow. He won gold medals in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m events in each of those editions.

However, his 4x100m victory in Beijing was scrapped because of a positive dope test returned by his teammate, Nesta Carter.

‘Lightning Bolt’ also holds the world record in the men’s 100m, 200m and 4x100m events. The IAAF World Championships in 2009 saw the Jamaican break his own record in the 100m and 200m events. In Berlin, Bolt clocked 9.58s in the 100m event and 19.19s in the 200m event, which stands to this day.

Along with Carter, Michael Frater and Yohan Blake, he broke the world record in the men’s 4x100m relay at the 2012 London Olympics. Their time of 36.84s stands to this date.

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