LONDON: Jamaican sprint legend Usain Bolt labelled himself the underdog as he seeks to round off his glittering individual track career with the defense of his world 100m title this week.
“That’s what I keep reading and what my team keeps telling me, so I’ve got to prove myself again,” the 30-year-old said in a warning shot to pretenders to his crown in the blue riband event of the IAAF World Championships.
Bolt started this season in sluggish form, running two 10sec-plus times before finally hitting some form at the Monaco Diamond League.
“The last race I ran was 9.95sec, which shows I’m going in the right direction,” he said.
“It’s a championships and the two rounds always help me. I’ve been here many times. It’s go-time, so let’s go!“
He added: “Usain Bolt has retired unbeaten in an individual event, unbeatable, unstoppable — for me that would be the best headline!
“If I show up at a championships you know I’m fully confident and ready to go, and my coach, I’m ready to go.”
Bolt refused to single out who would be his closest rival for the 100m, with heats on Friday before the semifinal and final on Saturday at the same stadium in east London where he won treble gold at the 2012 Olympics.
“The seven people who are going to be in that race with me, they’re the biggest challengers,” he said.
Bolt has dominated sprinting since taking double individual gold at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, going on to win a further six Olympic golds and also picking up 11 world titles.
He also holds world records of 9.58 and 19.19sec in the 100 and 200m, both set when winning at the 2009 Berlin worlds.
Bolt admitted that he hoped his records would last.
“I want to brag to my kids when they’re 15, that I’m still the best,” he joked.
In a glitzy press conference organized by his long-term sponsors Puma and hosted by Welsh ex-hurdler Colin Jackson, Bolt picked out his then-world record breaking victory in the 200m at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 as the stand-out performance of his career.
“It’s definitely Beijing (Olympics), the 200m, because I never knew I could break the world record,” he said.
“That was my main dream growing up — I always wanted to be Olympic 200m champion. When I broke the record I didn’t know how to react.”
And he insisted that motivation was not lacking despite having devoted his life to the track since the age of 10.
“Every year you find something else to motivate you,” he said. “I love competition, I thrive on competition, and I want people to run fast to push me.
“I’m comfortable saying I’m a legend because I’ve proved myself.
“I didn’t know I would be 100m world record holder growing up, I had no idea.
“Anything’s possible, you’ve just got to put it in your head and work for it. There are no words to explain what I’ve done over the years, and I’m really proud of myself.”
Sprinting has been mired by doping over the years, and track and field’s governing body the IAAF has been on the back foot over widespread state-sponsored doping in Russia, whose athletes were barred from the Rio Olympics and will also miss London, although some have been cleared to compete as neutrals.
But Bolt insisted the sport was on the right path.
“You can’t be happy about doping, but we’re doing a better job and are catching up and if you cheat, you will get caught,” he said.
“After the scandal on Russia, it doesn’t get any worse than that. It’s on its way back up now.
“Hopefully, athletes will see what they need to do to make the sport go forward.”
‘Underdog’ Bolt ready to fire in 100m defense
‘Underdog’ Bolt ready to fire in 100m defense
Football’s return to Syrian pitches brings fanfare — and friction
RIYADH: Just 10 days after the first anniversary of Syria’s Liberation Day, and one week after the historic performance of the country’s football team at the 2025 Arab Cup — where they reached the quarterfinals — domestic football returned as the Syrian Premier League kicked off its new season.
While league football has continued intermittently since a one-year suspension in 2011, this season represents a notable shift.
For the first time since 2017, the competition features 16 teams playing a full round-robin format — a return to structural normality after years of disrupted campaigns, withdrawals and operational challenges caused by conflict and deteriorating infrastructure.
Foreign players have also returned in significant numbers. A total of 25 overseas players are registered across the 16 clubs in what is now known as the “Prime TV” Syrian Premier League, following the broadcaster’s acquisition of domestic broadcasting rights for the season.
Yet despite the sense of renewal, the league’s reset has been far from smooth. Average attendances remain well below pre-war levels, while the season itself was delayed multiple times before eventually beginning in mid-December — a schedule that is now expected to extend deep into the summer months.
Concerns over facilities and fan safety have already sparked internal tension. The anticipated Matchday Two fixture between Tishreen and Hottin — also known as the Latakia Derby — was postponed by the Syrian Football Association until further notice. No official explanation was provided, but stadium readiness and crowd safety has been at the core of football discussion in Syria.
Supporters have also voiced their frustration over the newly announced ticket prices. Entry fees increased from 5,000 Syrian pounds ($0.45) to 15,000 SYP, a threefold rise announced by the SFA and widely cited as a factor behind subdued crowds.
Infrastructure remains a pressing issue. Historic venues such as Khalid Ibn Al-Walid Stadium in the city of Homs are still not cleared to host games due to pitch conditions and safety requirements, reinforcing the sense of uneven progress — advances made, but frequently offset by new obstacles.
Operational shortcomings were evident as early as the first game of the season. In the opening fixture between Al-Shorta and Hottin, a formal warning was issued to the former by the Disciplinary and Ethics Committee due to a breach in organizational arrangements for the match, including the failure to provide ball boys, which led to a five-minute delay to kick-off.
Political sensitivities have not been easy to navigate either. Al-Karamah were fined 1,500,000 SYP after fans directed verbal abuse at Al-Wahda player Milad Hamad, due to previous political posts made on his Facebook account.
Five days later, Al-Wahda announced Hamad’s suspension from all sporting activities pending review by the relevant committee at the SFA. “This decision comes in solidarity with all our beloved Syrian fans and as a reaffirmation of our commitment to the unity of our people and our land, and to the fact that the blood of our martyrs in the Syrian Revolution has not been shed in vain,” the club said in a statement posted via their official Facebook page.
Rebuilding a sustainable football system in Syria has proven complex. The league’s return has brought moments of excitement alongside renewed tension — a reminder that restoring domestic football is not simply about restarting competition, but about addressing the structures that support it. The Syrian Football Association was contacted for comment, but did not respond.
