HOWARD WALKER —
London , England — International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) President Sebastian Coe believes with Usain Bolt’s retirement the next face of track and field has big boots to fill and, more importantly, must be accessible.
Coe was addressing journalists at a press conference on Sunday just before Bolt was given a grand farewell with a lap of honor inside the London Olympic Stadium.
“What we are going to miss about Usain Bolt is not the three back-to-back Olympic Games or the clutch of world records or medals. It is going to be because he has an opinion, he has a view, he fills the room and he is of interest to you guys,” Coe pointed out.
“And the athletes will have to recognize that they are a part of this process and maybe instead of looking nervously to agents and handlers, we need more accessibility and some sports I think do that better than we do,” said Coe.
Bolt, 30, has won everything in front of him including the triple triple of 100m, 200m, and 4x100m at three consecutive Olympic Games between 2008 and 2016. However, his medal tally is down to eight after his teammate Nesta Carter failed a retroactive drug test and the team was stripped of its 2008 relay gold.
Bolt, having illuminated the sport to a level where he is considered an icon, has walked away after finishing third in his last 100m event and pulling up injured on the anchor leg of the 4x100m relay.
There is a host of pretenders to the throne but they will need the help of the IAAF to get to the heights that Bolt attained.
“Yes, of course, we have some really impressive talent that identified themselves in these Championships, but that’s not the same as filling the void. We have to work on that,” he emphasized.
“I think this gives us the opportunity to cast the light on the young talent that’s out there but it’s more to it than that,” he noted.
“How they become publicly recognized is by large part going to be done by the work of their federations. The work that we will do internally in the IAAF to help them create this star,” he added.
Usain Bolt had an emotional goodbye to his remarkable athletics career with a lap of honor at the London Olympic Stadium where he was given a framed piece of lane seven from the 2012 Olympic track ending with his celebrated Lightning Bolt pose.
Bolt’s lap of honor saw him stop at the 100m and 200m marks as he said goodbye to his favorite events. The fans applauded his every move for the last time as he walked around the sprawling iconic stadium.
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