How Usain Bolt’s father convinced him to abandon cricket for track and field, a sport he did not really enjoy despite being good at it.
Even as the fastest man in history, Usain Bolt never really wanted to be a sprinter. His first love was cricket—a sport deeply rooted in his Jamaican upbringing and one he inherited from his father, an avid follower of the game.
If it weren’t for his father Wellesley’s intervention, Bolt might have been steaming in as a fast bowler rather than rewriting history as the world’s greatest sprinter.
Despite dominating the world of athletics and holding world records in the 100m (9.58s), 200m (19.19s), and 4x100m relay, Bolt admitted that sprinting was never his passion. Growing up, he idolized cricket stars and dreamed of making it big as a pace bowler.
“In my first year in high school, I was taking part in track and field, but I still wanted to play cricket,” Bolt said on the Meet The Mitchells podcast.
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“Most times, I would find myself skipping cricket training because of track and field, and it forced my coach to complain to my father that ‘yo, the man does not want to come for training.’”
But while Bolt excelled on the track, his heart was still on the cricket pitch. His coach saw his talent in sprinting, but it took a conversation with his father to finally steer him in the right direction.
Recognizing the immense politics in cricket selection, Bolt’s father urged him to take sprinting more seriously.
“One day, my dad came and told me, ‘Focus on track and field because there are a lot of politics in cricket.’ It is true because I have watched it and understood it for years, and that is how I stuck to track and field.”
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Bolt ultimately took his father’s words to heart, committing fully to sprinting—and the rest is history. From reluctant runner to an eight-time Olympic gold medalist and 11-time world champion, his decision would change not just his life, but the entire landscape of athletics.
Despite leaving cricket behind, Bolt has never lost his love for the sport. He remains an active supporter and has participated in charity matches, even famously bowling out Chris Gayle.
In 2024, he was appointed an ambassador for the ICC T20 World Cup, further cementing his connection to the game.
“Cricket is in my blood,” Bolt once said, emphasizing that despite his unparalleled success in athletics, his passion for the sport never faded.
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Bolt’s journey is a testament to the importance of guidance and trusting those who see potential in us before we do. If not for his father’s foresight, Bolt may have spent his career navigating the uncertainties of cricket instead of cementing his legacy as the greatest sprinter of all time.
As Bolt himself admitted, “Everybody saw it, but I just never wanted to run. I just used to run because I was good, but cricket was what I loved.”
Yet, in the end, it was sprinting that made him a legend.
