"You don't want to be anybody's friend" - Usain Bolt opens up about the change in mentality in new age sprinters as compared to his seniors

Jamaican sprinting sensation Usain Bolt recently opened up about his much talked about 'rivalry' with former Olympic champion and American sprinter Justin Gatlin. Bolt had recently appeared in an episode of the 'Ready Set Go!' podcast, organized by Gatlin and Bahamian Olympian Rodney Green.

In the episode, Bolt talked about how the mentality of the new age sprinters has changed in comparison to that of former sprinters like Maurice Green. When asked about an incident during his first race with Gatlin, Bolt remarked,

"It was their first race together in Zagra [Zagreb], I can never forget that. I understood why. Remember, Justin [Gatlin] was in the era of Maurice Green and all these guys, that's what he's used to. That's a mentality, so when you come back, and you see these guys chilling, you don't want to be anybody's friend. But for me it was funny, because I understood in track and field how it is." [0:25 onwards]

Bolt referred to the intense rivalry during the Maurice Green era, which left little room for banter, in comparison to subsequent races, which provided much more in terms of entertainment and camaraderie, initiated by Bolt himself. He also reminded Gatlin of how he 'spit' in his lane, prompting laughter from everyone.

Usain Bolt also cheekily mentioned that he is more than ready for a potential match with Justin Gatlin, just 'for the fun of it'. He also described Gatlin as a 'true competitor'.

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Usain Bolt talked about the possibilty of Noah Lyles and Co. 'defeating' him and Justin Gatlin

Usain Bolt reveals the 'possibility' of Noah Lyles and Co. defeating him and Justin Gatlin for a medal [Image Source : Getty]

In the same podcast with Justin Gatlin and Rodney Green, Bolt recalled the iconic 100m race at the London Olympics in 2012, where he gave it his all to win the gold medal against the likes of Yohan Blake and Gatlin, who won the bronze medal.

Bolt compared the 100m finals of 2012 to that of 2024, and remarked that there was no way the current medalists would've stood a chance. In his words,

“Nobody in that race [2024 final] would have gotten a medal [in the 2012 final].”

Adding his thoughts, Justin Gatlin said:

“If I’d have lined up with them at that point of time, I would have won that.”

Bolt couldn't help but cheekily mention,

“Justin, they wouldn’t have caught you, they’d have been chasing tails.”

At the Paris Olympics in 2024, Noah Lyles surprised everyone by edging out top favorite sprinter, Kishane Thompson of Jamaica, in an intense race that was ultimately decided by a photo finish. Lyles edged out Thompson by a bare margin of 0.005 seconds, while Fred Kerley had to be content with a bronze medal.

This was also the first time that an American sprinter had won the 100m title at the Olympics in two decades, with Justin Gatlin having won the previous gold medal at the Athens Olympics in 2004.