Years ago, Usain Bolt asked Michael Johnson why Johnson retired near the top of his game after repeating as Olympic 400m champion in Sydney in 2000.
“Listen, I’ve done everything in this sport. I was on top. Why should I continue?” Bolt recalled Johnson telling him.
“So you accomplish everything you want to accomplish,” Bolt continued in an early 2016 interview. “At some point, you just say, listen, let me leave the sport.”
If was up to Johnson, Bolt wouldn’t have competed at all this year, which culminated in a third-place finish in the world championships 100m (video) and a torn hamstring in the 4x100m relay (video).