Legendary sprinter Usain Bolt, one of the greatest athletes in Olympic history, has revealed that cricket was his first source of inspiration and the sport that fuelled his dream to excel on the track.Speaking at a “Fireside Chat” at the Jamnabai Narsee Campus on Friday, the Jamaican icon said watching cricketers push themselves on the field gave him the motivation to chase greatness.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!“For me, I was a huge cricket fan growing up. Watching all the talent of the cricketers, the way they worked and carried themselves, inspired me at a young age to work hard and to be the best I could be,” said Bolt, whose glittering career includes eight Olympic gold medals and 11 World Championships titles.Jamaica has a rich cricketing legacy, having produced greats like Michael Holding, Courtney Walsh, Chris Gayle and Jeff Dujon, and Bolt admitted their discipline and resilience shaped his outlook.Asked to sum up his road to greatness in three words, the 39-year-old kept it simple: “hard work.” He elaborated, “It takes a lot of hard work and dedication. I loved track and field, so I worked very hard on it. The road was tough — it’s never easy to get to the top. But I pushed myself through injuries, doubts and setbacks to be one of the best in the world. It was all about dedication.”Bolt, who famously clocked a world record 9.58 seconds in the 100m, also weighed in on Olympic pressure. “I think defending is harder. It’s easier to win the first gold, but when you’re being chased, it gets tougher.”
