"Hurt me to the core up"- Usain Bolt opens up about being unable to beat American athlete after losing in his early days as a pro athlete

Usain Bolt recently revealed that he is still upset after being unable to defeat American athlete Xavier Carter after losing to him in the early days of his career. The legendary Jamaican athlete recalled despite putting in great effort in his race against Carter, he was unable to clinch the victory.

Bolt is known worldwide for his dominating aura and his never-give-up attitude on the track. He has defeated some staunch competitors, including Justin Gatlin, Tyson Gay, Asafa Powell, and Yohan Blake multiple times throughout his career.

However, he spoke about being unable to defeat American sprinter Xavier Carter after losing to him in a 200m race in 2007. Usain Bolt shed light on the incident in his recent appearance in the 'Ready Set Go' podcast with Justin Gatlin and Rodney Green. The Jamaican athlete recalled having a conversation with Wallace Spearmon, who revealed to him that Carter was in peak form. Bolt never got an opportunity to race Carter again and claimed it upsets him even today.

“But the story about Xavier, bro, it hurt me to the core up to this day because I never got a chance to beat him back. I never got a chance to the core, bro. To this day. I'll never forget. We came back from the championship and he goes, bro, Xavier been here for a couple of weeks training. He's ready,” Bolt said. (44:30)

“And he said to me, yo, you're tired. And I go, I'm good. He goes, you don't know you're tired, but you're tired. “And I pull up in the race, I'm running and I'm like, oh, shit, I am tired. You know what I mean? Cause you can tell your body is not giving you-You hit that, trying to hit that gear, I'm trying to go and my body is like, nah. I came off and I was running, I was like, whatever. And then he goes, what the hell? I was pissed,” he added.

When Usain Bolt spoke about his competitive nature

Usain Bolt during a press conference at the 2024 Laureus World Sports Awards Madrid - Source: Getty

Usain Bolt spoke about his competitive nature and mindset in an interview with Thought Economics in October 2023. The Jamaican athlete revealed that he always considered humans to be limitless and that is something which had fueled his competitive nature.

Moreover, the desire to push the boundaries set in the sport helps him to remain motivated whenever he steps on the track.

"I have shown that anything is possible. I always tell people not to limit themselves. Find out what you are good at or interested in and work hard to be successful in that," he said.

Furthermore, he shed light on the importance of enjoying the task at hand to achieve success over a period of time.