Twelve years ago, in Barcelona, Spain, Ato Boldon exited the Olympic Games men's 100 metres event in the opening round. Yesterday, the 30-year-old sprinter announced his retirement from track and field, after suffering the same fate, at the Olympic Stadium, here in Athens, Greece.
By Kwame LawrenceBoldon is one of just three men with four individual Olympic sprint medals. Additionally, he is the 1997 200m world champion and the 1998 Commonwealth Games 100m gold medallist.
The Los Angeles-based sprinter is the sixth fastest human being in history, at 9.86 seconds, a clocking he has produced four times. Boldon has a total of 28 legal sub-ten clockings, and is second to training partner Maurice Greene (48) on the all-time list.
In the 200m, the T&T sprint star has nine legal sub-20 clockings to his name. And incredibly, six of history's seven "same-day, sub-10/sub-20 doubles" were recorded by Boldon.
Yesterday, though, the quadruple Olympic medallist was a mere shadow of himself, finishing fourth in heat six, in a slow 10.41 seconds. The effort was not good enough to earn him a lane in the second round, as one of the ten "fastest losers".
After the race, Boldon told the Sunday Express he has decided to hang up his spikes.
"It's an embarrassing effort. It's the worst race I've ever run at this level. That's it! It has been a good fight, but this is the end. I'll run the relay, and hopefully, we'll do something. But that would be it. The fire isn't there anymore, and I don't know how to rekindle it. It's been a fun run, but when it's over, it's over."
Boldon was flat throughout his first round race, yesterday, and was unable to offer a serious challenge to Nobuharu Asahara, the Japanese sprinter winning in 10.33 seconds. Asahara beat Poland's Lukasz Chyla (10.35) and Ivory Coast sprinter Eric N'Dri (10.39) into second and third, respectively.
Boldon, whose Olympic preparations were hampered by a left quadriceps injury he sustained in June, at the Sagicor National Open Senior Track and Field Championships, said that yesterday's race made it absolutely clear that retirement is his only option.
"I still feel, in my head, like I'm running on one leg. That's probably because the left leg is not as strong as I want it to be. But that's not an excuse and that's not why I'm not executing out there. There's just no fire. I felt very relaxed, maybe too relaxed. Maybe I needed to come in with a bit more urgency.
"Psychologically," he continued, "when you give so much just trying to get ready, sometimes the normal energy you would use to go and perform is already used up. I used it up just to get here."
The final sub-10 clocking of Boldon's career was produced more than three years ago, in the 2001 World Championship century final, in Edmonton, Canada.
In July, 2002, the T&T track star was involved in a smash-up on the Priority Bus Route, and has struggled with injury ever since.
"It's been so hard to get back to this point, so that in itself is a victory. I could have been done in 2002. I could have thrown in the towel last year. And when the injury happened in Malmo (Sweden), in early August, I certainly didn't think I was going to get back to this point. It's been a good run, and I've enjoyed every minute of it."
While Boldon has a strong fan-base in T&T, he has been attacked constantly by some of his compatriots, many of whom have the warped opinion that Olympic gold is the only yardstick by which greatness can be measured. The former world junior double sprint champion is not bothered, though, by the critics and cynics.
"I am not that concerned with my legacy. The more I learn about being a Christian, the more I realise that being remembered is something that humans want. God is never worried about that. So, I'm not concerned with how I'm remembered. It would be nice if I'm remembered in a nice light, but if not, that's okay.
"I'm comfortable in my own mind," he continued, "with what I was able to do. I competed cleanly, I was a positive role model and I did the best I could while I had my chance."
Boldon recorded the greatest triumph of his career, at the Olympic Stadium, here in Athens, seven years ago. If everything goes according to plan, on Saturday evening he will have an Olympic sprint relay medal to go with his 1997 World Championship 200m gold.
"I wouldn't count out our relay. We'll certainly have fresh legs. And the relay will allow me to come out each time with real intensity. That's the nature of the relay. I approached the first round this morning as though I had been running ten flat all year. I haven't, so I can't relax in a first round. I had to be on it," Boldon ended, "and that's how the relay needs to be."
