"I didn’t even look at the clock"- Usain Bolt reflects on breaking 100m world record race for first time and how beating Tyson Gay was his 'main goal'

The Jamaican legend, Usain Bolt, recently expressed his thoughts on his mindset before he set the 100-meter World Record in 2008. The eight-time Olympic gold medalist shared his insights on the 100m world record race and his main objective of limiting Tyson Gay.

Bolt, who has 14 World Championship medals, successfully broke the World Record in the 100-meter race on May 31, 2008, at the Reebok Grand Prix. He clocked 9.72 seconds, beating four-time World Championship medalist and the then reigning champion in 100m, Tyson Gay.

He recently appeared in the “Ready Set Go” podcast with five-time Olympic medalist Justin Gatlin and former sprinter Rodney Green. He shared his views on the iconic 100-meter world record race event at Icahn Stadium in New York.

“I didn't even look at the clock, though. If you watch the race when I got to the 200 meters, when I was doing the lap, and then was, when the announcer, I heard, when the announcer said, 'Yeah, it's official, it's a world record,'” Bolt shared on the Ready Set Go podcast [28:33 onwards]

Bolt continued,

“And I was like, you know me, that's was when I actually heard. I didn't even know that because when I ran across the line, I didn't, I was just happy to beat Tyson Gay, that was my main goal going there. It was pure competition for me. It was a tough race though,” he added.

Bolt, who holds the world records in the 100-meter, 200-meter and 4x100-meter, expressed that his main goal going into the race was to beat the acclaimed former sprinter Tyson Gay. Breaking the world record was not initially a part of his plan before the race.

Usain Bolt shares his thoughts on his mental state during competitions

Usain Bolt wins gold during the Men's 200m Final on Day 13 of the London 2012 Olympic Games, Ian MacNicol Archive - Source: Getty

Usain Bolt has become one of the legendary athletes in the track and field sports category and gathered numerous achievements during his illustrious career. During his appearance in the “High Performance” podcast, he opened up about his state of mind and how he used to handle situations during his playing career.

“I always just try to think; if I'm just standing on line and you see me looking, I'm trying to think about random things. Anything that can pop into my head, I try to think about it,” he shared [42:16 onwards]

He continued,

“Like probably what I'm going to have for dinner or if I'm going to play video game or something that happened in the day, I try to distract myself from the moment, because if you get into your head, that's when you make mistake.”

The former sprinter who specialized in the 100-meter and 200-meter clinched multiple medals in the World Junior Championships, four medals in the CAC Junior Championships (U17), and multiple medals during CARIFTA Games in U17 and U20 categories.