‘When I walk up stairs, I get out of breath:’ Usain Bolt on how retirement made him feel human again

Bolt reacts after breaking the 200m world record with a time of 19.30 to win the gold medal in the men's final at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. (Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images via CNN Newsource)

Eight-time Olympic champion Usain Bolt is human just like the rest of us, admitting retirement sees the famed sprinter now getting out of breath after walking up the stairs.

Widely regarded as the greatest sprinter of all time, the 39-year-old – who still holds the world records for the 100m, 200m and the 4x100m relay – told reporters at the World Athletics Championships that due to a ruptured achilles, he no longer runs.

“No, I mostly do gym workouts. I’m not a fan, but I think now that I’ve been out for a while, I have to actually start running because, when I walk up stairs, I get out of breath,” he told assembled media in Tokyo, including The Guardian and The Telegraph.

“I think when I start working on it fully again, I will probably have to do some laps just to get my breathing right.”

The Jamaican announced his retirement from elite sprinting in 2017. When asked about his daily routine nowadays, he said now he spends much of his time with his children.

“Well normally, I wake up just in time to see the kids off to school, and then it depends on what I have to do. If I have nothing to do, I just chill out. I might work out sometimes if I’m in a good mood. I just watch some series and chill until the kids come home.

“I spend some time with them, hang out, until they start annoying me then I leave. And then afterwards, I just stay at home and watch movies or I’m into Lego now, so I do Lego.”

When asked why the current cohort of runners haven’t yet caught up with his generation, in spite of technological advancements including such as spikes, he replied: “You want the real answer? We’re just more talented.

“That’s all I’m saying. Of course, it shows when it comes to the men. You can see the women are different. They’re running faster times and faster times. So it shows – it has to be the talent.”

He nodded to fellow Jamaican sprinting legend Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce’s times post-spikes.

“You have Shelly, who has got the new spikes, and she ran faster. So it’s just the talent. We’re just way more talented men over that time. It shows if you look at it.”