Heartbroken by Jamaican Fans, Usain Bolt Confessed About Career’s Low Point in 2013: “My World Crashed In”

While moving through the road of glory, Usain Bolt has had his moments with each kind of emotion. His eight Olympic gold medals and eleven World Championship titles are a testament to his dominance in track and field. These achievements have brought immense fame to his name. However, do these accolades truly reflect the struggles he endured on the track or the relentless effort he put in? Furthermore, they don’t reveal the battles Bolt faced off the track to stay on course. Indeed, his journey was far from smooth. The doyen of athletics had to endure intense scrutiny, facing criticism from various quarters during pivotal moments of his career. Arguably, the harshest blow came from the wrath of Jamaican fans, which proved to be one of the most bitter pills for him to swallow.

Previously, Bolt spoke about this. He termed the Jamaican fans ‘demanding.’ Yet in his biography, the Olympian had a few more things to share about his experience with the Jamaican fans. The revelation is bound to create ripples in the so-called idea of fanfare. 

Usain Bolt found it hard to settle with the criticism coming from his countrymen 

In 2013, Usain Bolt published Faster than Lightning: My Autobiography with the help of Matt Allen. Just before that, however, Usain Bolt experienced his most memorable Olympic moment in London. At the 2012 Games, the then 26-year-old completed a historic three-peat, claiming gold in the men’s 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relay events. His blistering speed left no rivals, and his name was beyond reproach. Yet, even as he basked in the limelight, he couldn’t forget the struggles of his early career, when he constantly had to prove himself. Surprisingly, it wasn’t the challenge posed by his opponents that kept him on edge, but rather the harsh criticism from Jamaican fans, which cost him a few sleepless nights. In his book, Bolt recounts a vivid incident that encapsulates the unfiltered anger he faced from his own countrymen.

It had been from those days when Bolt was at 19, trying hard to win everything. He already claimed the World Junior Championship title by then. Naturally, the expectations had been high for him. Yet he fumbled in a race, that too, in Kingston, in front of thousands of Jamaican fans. That put him in hot water. Bolt narrated the moment: “Some people were even shouting, cussing, saying that I’d stopped on purpose because I knew I wasn’t going to win. Then they jeered me for limping away.” The bitter experience took him aback. The emotions kept flowing in him. 

In the book, the legend tried to explain those emotions in his words. He wrote, “My world crashed in, I couldn’t believe it was happening. I’d heard of people experiencing a nightmare where they had been sitting in a packed room of angry people, everyone hurling insults at them. The explanation touched the upper beat when he noted, “ I was suddenly living that horror for real, but on a much bigger scale. Honestly, I had never imagined a time when a Jamaican crowd—my own people, the same people that had cheered me on so loudly when I’d won the World Junior Championships in 2002—would boo me as I came off the Kingston track.” The lesson hit him hard. Usain Bolt noticed his own world becoming an unknown place in front of him. The experience did not wash away, and he remained mindful later on. However, his compatriot also had a similar rough day in the office. 

The ‘Beast’ failed to avoid the blow from the Jamaicans

In 2017, Usain Bolt retired from professional athletics, stepping away from the sport that defined his legendary career. Since then, he has led a life largely removed from direct involvement in sports. However, his compatriot and fierce competitor, Yohan Blake, has taken a different path. This year, the 34-year-old announced his intention to compete in his final Olympic 100m race at the Paris Games. With this goal in mind, he entered the Jamaican trials, hoping to secure a spot on the team. Unfortunately, a combination of off-form performances and other challenges derailed his efforts. Ultimately, Blake failed to make the final Jamaican lineup for the Paris Olympics—a result that didn’t sit well with fans.

The outrage chased the former world champion like bushfire. In the meantime, he had to say, “As I said, my own country, Jamaica, doesn’t give me the respect”. He went on to explain, “Jamaica love winners and once as you not win, they’re not supporting you”. For a moment, that statement mirrored what Bolt had written eleven years ago. He had to hear the same clamor after his loss. Well, Bolt thought of a way out of the situation. In one of his interactions, the legend said, “I figured out that I had to do this for myself first.” After his learning in 2005-06, Bolt surely counted himself first while competing in any event. But could Yohan Blake apply that method to his races? What do you think?