How Old Was Usain Bolt When He Retired
Usain Bolt hung up his spikes when he was just thirty years old. That might sound ancient for a sprinter, but trust me, it is practically a senior citizen in the track and fie...
Usain Bolt hung up his spikes when he was just thirty years old. That might sound ancient for a sprinter, but trust me, it is practically a senior citizen in the track and field world. When you spend your twenties breaking the sound barrier and flexing for the cameras, hanging up the cleats at thirty feels like you are calling it quits way too early in the grand game of life, my dear, dear friend.
Most sprinters are done by the time they hit twenty-five, looking like they need a hip replacement just to walk up a flight of stairs. Bolt, however, was still flexing those legendary muscles and shattering records well into his thirties without breaking a single drop of sweat or ever truly losing his cool. It is almost unfair how the man seemed to age in reverse while the rest of us were getting wrinkles and back pain from simply standing up too fast.
The Sudden End
He officially retired on August 14, 2017, which meant he was still technically thirty at the time of his final departure from the sport. His absolute last race was the 4x100-meter relay at the World Championships in London, and it did not go quite as the fans had hoped for. A devastating hamstring injury cut his legendary career short, proving that even the fastest lightning bolt has a very harsh physical limit when Mother Nature decides to intervene with a cruel twist.
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What is truly surprising is that Bolt did not retire because his body was physically broken beyond repair or because he simply could not run anymore. He admitted that the fire simply was not there anymore, and the daily grind of intense training and strict diets had completely lost its little sparkle. Sometimes, even the fastest man alive just wakes up and decides that the warm bed is way more appealing than the cold starting blocks.
Life After Lightning
After retiring at the age of thirty, Bolt decided to chase a completely different dream: professional football. He boldly tried out for Borussia Dortmund in Germany and even played for the Central Coast Mariners in Australia. Imagine being the fastest human alive on this earth and then desperately trying to dribble past a bewildered defender who has never seen a man run that fast in their entire lives.
Usain Bolt: I'd have run 100m world record even faster with today's
His football career was, let us say, less than legendary, but the sheer audacity of trying it at thirty was absolutely hilarious to watch from the sidelines. He was definitely older than most of the rookies on the pitch, yet he still had the raw speed to leave them completely in the dust. It just goes to show that age is really just a number when you have legs that operate like high-powered pistons and a massive, incredibly swollen ego.
By the time he hung up his tracksuit for the last time, he had already secured eight Olympic gold medals. At thirty, he was already a living legend, having completely dominated the sport for nearly a decade straight without any real competition. Most athletes spend their entire lives chasing a tiny fraction of what he achieved during his absolute prime years, but Bolt just effortlessly and swiftly blew past them all.
Usain Bolt: Farewell to a wonder of our sporting age - CNN
Sprinting at speeds of 27 miles per hour puts an incredible amount of stress on the human body and its aging joints. By thirty, Bolt's knees and hamstrings were likely screaming louder than the roaring crowd at the Beijing Olympics. Yet, he chose to walk away while he was still ahead of the game and at the absolute peak of his physical powers, leaving everyone else to just catch their breath.
It is wild to think that the man who retired at thirty started sprinting seriously in his late teens. He was practically a baby when he first shattered the 100-meter world record at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. From a raw teenager to a retired legend in just over a decade, his timeline is absolutely mind-blowing and slightly terrifying for the rest of us mere mortals walking out there.
So, how old was Usain Bolt when he retired? He was thirty, a perfectly respectable age for a regular human being, even if that human happens to be a superhero. He left the sport on his own terms, still holding the crown of the fastest man alive and ever. If that is not a graceful and hilarious exit, I honestly do not know what else a man could possibly ask for in his entire mortal life.
