(cache) Time for Usain Bolt to Challenge Himself: 400 Meters, Long Jump in 2012 -- Back Porch FanHouse

Time for Usain Bolt to Challenge Himself: 400 Meters, Long Jump in 2012

Usain Bolt could retire today, having just turned 23, and he would live forever as a legend in track and field. Having already won three Olympic gold medals and broken the world records in the 100 meters and 200 meters at last year's Olympics, he returned to the track and field world championships this summer and won three more golds, breaking his own records in the process.

So what's left for Bolt to do?

The easy thing would be for Bolt to continue dominating his favorite events at every major track and field event over the next couple of years and then win the 100 and 200 in the 2012 Olympics in London. Throw in the 4x100-meter relay gold that Bolt can continue helping his country win, and his talent is so great that he can have six Olympic gold medals at age 26.

But the greatest athletes are the ones who don't settle for the easy thing. And that's why it's time for Bolt to take on a challenge that, should he succeed, would establish him as the best athlete in the history of track and field.

Bolt should turn his focus over the next three years training in the long jump and the 400 meters. His athletic talent is so great that he could win the 2012 gold medals in both, and if he did that, he'd eclipse Carl Lewis and Jesse Owens and stand alone as the greatest track and field Olympian of them all.

Bolt's performances in the 100 and 200 have been spectacular, but both Lewis and Owens won the 100 and 200, too, and they were both long jump gold medalists as well. Bolt hasn't tried the long jump, but he has the pure athletic talent to win it. Just ask the current long jump world record holder, Mike Powell, who says he thinks Bolt could top his record.

"With his height [6-foot-5] he is the type who would scare me," Powell told the Guardian. "He is tall and fast. We are dealing with a freak-of-nature athlete. He is off the charts. He is destroying other athletes, making them look like kids."

Bolt says he's up for it: "I tell my coach I'd love to try the long jump before I retire. Definitely," Bolt said. "Hopefully I can do this before I retire because I think I'd be very good."

The 400, however, would be an even greater challenge. Athletes who have the explosive power to win the 100 usually don't have the stamina to win the 400, which is why no one has ever won gold in both. Can Bolt be the first?

"I don't know," he said. "I don't want to do it but if my coach decides I'm dominant over the 100 and 200 and let's try something new, I'll definitely try to put my heart into it also."

Let's hope Bolt's coach convinces him to tackle that new challenge. Bolt can keep collecting world records for years to come, but every world record will eventually be broken. Winning golds in an unprecedented variety of track and field events would allow Bolt to truly establish himself as the greatest.

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Usain Bolt Photos

Jamaica's Usain Bolt signs autographs in front of a piece of the Berlin wall offered to him by Berlin mayor Klaus Wowereit on August 23, 2009 in Belrin. Superstar Usain Bolt replicated his Olympic gold medal tally at 2009 IAAF Athletics World Championships when Jamaica won the men's 4x100 metres relay title. AFP PHOTO DDP / OLIVER LANG (Photo credit should read OLIVER LANG/AFP/Getty Images)

AFP/Getty Images

DDP

Usain Bolt Snapshots

AFP/Getty Images

Jamaica's Usain Bolt poses in front of a piece of the Berlin wall offered to him by Berlin mayor Klaus Wowereit on August 23, 2009 in Belrin. Superstar Usain Bolt replicated his Olympic gold medal tally at 2009 IAAF Athletics World Championships when Jamaica won the men's 4x100 metres relay title. AFP PHOTO DDP / OLIVER LANG (Photo credit should read OLIVER LANG/AFP/Getty Images)

AFP/Getty Images

Berlin mayor Klaus Wowereit (L) poses with Jamaica's Usain Bolt after offering him a piece of the Berlin wall on August 23, 2009 in Belrin. Superstar Usain Bolt replicated his Olympic gold medal tally at 2009 IAAF Athletics World Championships when Jamaica won the men's 4x100 metres relay title. AFP PHOTO DDP / OLIVER LANG (Photo credit should read OLIVER LANG/AFP/Getty Images)

AFP/Getty Images

Berlin mayor Klaus Wowereit (R) poses with Jamaica's Usain Bolt after offering him a piece of the Berlin wall on August 23, 2009 in Belrin. Superstar Usain Bolt replicated his Olympic gold medal tally at 2009 IAAF Athletics World Championships when Jamaica won the men's 4x100 metres relay title. AFP PHOTO DDP / OLIVER LANG (Photo credit should read OLIVER LANG/AFP/Getty Images)

AFP/Getty Images

Berlin mayor Klaus Wowereit (R) poses with Jamaica's Usain Bolt after offering him a piece of the Berlin wall on August 23, 2009. Superstar Usain Bolt replicated his Olympic gold medal tally at 2009 IAAF Athletics World Championships when Jamaica won the men's 4x100 metres relay title. AFP PHOTO DDP / OLIVER LANG (Photo credit should read OLIVER LANG/AFP/Getty Images)

AFP/Getty Images

Berlin mayor Klaus Wowereit (R) offers a piece of the Berlin wall to Jamaica's Usain Bolt in Berlin on August 23, 2009. Superstar Usain Bolt replicated his Olympic gold medal tally at 2009 IAAF Athletics World Championships when Jamaica won the men's 4x100 metres relay title. AFP PHOTO DDP / OLIVER LANG (Photo credit should read OLIVER LANG/AFP/Getty Images)

AFP/Getty Images

BERLIN - AUGUST 23: (L-R) Darrel Brown, Marc Burns, Emmanuel Callander and of Richard Thompson Trinidad and Tobago receive the silver medal Michael Frater, Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell of Jamaica receive the gold medal and Simeon Williamson, Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, Marlon Devonish and Tyrone Edgar of Great Britain & Northern Ireland receive the bronze during the medal ceremony for the men's 4x100 Metres Final during day nine of the 12th IAAF World Athletics Championships at the Olympic Stadium on August 23, 2009 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Darrel Brown;Marc Burns;Emmanuel Callander;Richard Thompson;Michael Frater;Usain Bolt;Asafa Powell;Simeon Williamson;Harry Aikines-Aryeetey;Marlon Devonish;Tyrone Edgar

Getty Images

BERLIN - AUGUST 23: Michael Frater, Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell of Jamaica receive the gold medal during the medal ceremony for the men's 4x100 Metres Final during day nine of the 12th IAAF World Athletics Championships at the Olympic Stadium on August 23, 2009 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Michael Frater;Usain Bolt;Asafa Powell

Getty Images

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

8-24-2009 @ 11:25AM

Michael said...

MDS - good article! Only thing about the 400 is that his heart has to be in it. Strained/pulled/torn hamstrings are in his future if he takes that on and his hear's not in it!

8-24-2009 @ 12:08PM

Dana Salzarulo said...

Let him return kicks in the NFL (say for the Patriots) and have him run under Brady's passes would be nice too. At least the man would get a signing bonus of a few million dollars...how do not know what you make in track and field, but my guess is whatever a gold medal is worth.

8-24-2009 @ 4:11PM

D said...

Think endorsements. Bolt doesn't need the US. Track is big elsewhere and there is money to be made. Magazine ads and what have you.
As for returning kicks in the NFL or being a receiver-when you run the 100 no one is trying to stop you at the blocks or from reaching the tape, your not wearing shoulder pads and a helmet, you have to be able to catch the ball and the people you are trying to run by have great speed too.
0.2 seconds difference in the forty is about 3 inches of height.

8-24-2009 @ 12:36PM

jzz3skys said...

Could you at least acknowledge that Powell may be tooting his own horn by praising Bolt's physical advantages in height, speed, etc. over him, the world record holder in the long jump? Come on, Powell is not afraid of someone who doesn't even compete in his event and is waiting for his coach to tell it's OK.

Carl Lewis was jumping 26 1/2 feet in high school at age 17 ("a wind-legal 26-6 at the International Prep Invitational in Napierville, Ill.") and then at age 19 as a sophomore in college, he won the first of his six USA outdoor long jumps (28-3 1/2 ), earning him the No. 1 ranking in the world in both the long jump and the 100. I think his career best was 29'1", just an inch and a half shy of Bob Beamon's mark.

Bolt, on the other hand is 23 years old and has never run the event, he's just waiting for the coach to tell him if it's in his future. DREAM ON.

It's comparable to Michael Jordan's career in baseball. His athleticism didn't matter. Tommy Lasorda said point blank that he would never be a major leaguer.

Besides, there are other track athletes whose victories are comparable to Bolt's but you're not acknowledging them. I'm talking about the Ethiopian Bekele who won the 5,000 and 10,000 meters at Beijing and just repeated in Berlin at the Worlds.

Could you please explain to me how Mariotti finds it "charismatic" when a grown-[up] man makes the sign of the thunderbolt every time he wins a race?

Americans should be beating the Jamaicans in the relays.

8-24-2009 @ 2:46PM

sgrannaun said...

HATER!

8-24-2009 @ 12:39PM

awwtfp said...

no NFL for Bolt...Americans are always trying to corrupt the great world athletes with their NFL, MLB nonsense. Bolt is great as he is, as it will take intense training and discipline just to maintain his dominance. The other sprinters of the world will catch up so he has to keep up the training. The reason Bolt and the other Jamaicans are destroying the USA is they first ignored the USA college system and stayed in Jamaica...now they need to ignore the USA professional sports leagues. Bolt will make WAY more money on the track circuit...Next up Zurich on Friday...Then the IAAF Finals in two weeks.....Track and Field is the worlds greatest sport...screw American Football.

8-24-2009 @ 1:01PM

illicon said...

man f' track and field he shoudl bulk up and become the best football player known to man

8-24-2009 @ 1:51PM

mlocal195 said...

We don't know how fast this man can run. Lets give him a chance to break records after records, and be proud of him.

8-24-2009 @ 2:50PM

ldb0831 said...

What's next for Usain Bolt? How bout getting off the juice for starters.

8-24-2009 @ 2:53PM

iotasky said...

Bolt is just fast.........period!!!! I believe if he runs without looking for the other runners, he could break his own record again!!!!

8-24-2009 @ 3:40PM

Pimp Daddy Red said...

Is it just me?...or does anyone else think this guy is on some sort of steriods they dont have tests for?!!!!! I mean come on, when was the last time u saw a field of men get blown away in the 100...maybe BEN JOHNSON...and we all know how that turned out. Remember when Marion Jones won 6 golds and she was supposed to be the freak athlete or our time. I'm just sayin MAYBE he is clean but in the world we live in today..I'm very skepticle!!