London Olympics champion Usain Bolt plays a one-on-one basketball game with Matthew Blackwell during a visit to the SkyCity Breakers at their training facility at Mairangi Bay in Auckland, New Zealand, Monday. — AP AUCKLAND — Usain Bolt will be aiming for a three-peat of Olympic sprint titles in the 100 and 200 meters at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, rather than trying out a new event. After Bolt became the first man to successfully defend both sprint titles at the London Olympics, he was coy about his prospects of competing in Rio and there was speculation he could switch to the long jump or 400 for a new challenge. However, during a promotional visit to New Zealand Monday, the self-declared “living legend” said that his plan for 2016 “is all about just going and defending my titles.” “I don't want to try any different events at Rio, because at Rio I will just defend my titles to show the world that there is a possibility that I can do it again,” Bolt, who won the 100- and 200-meters and helped Jamaica win the 4x100-meter relays at Beijing and London, told a news conference. “The three-peat. That's the focus — there's not going to be any different event.” The 26-year-old Bolt was under intense pressure from Yohan Blake heading into the London Olympics after losing to his training partner at the Jamaican selection trials. But he vowed to deliver his best when it counted most and showed with his commanding runs in London just how far ahead of the competition he can be when he's in peak form. Bolt has the world record in the 100 and 200 and wants to go even faster. He'll return to training later this month and turn his attention immediately to the world championships next year in Moscow. “I continue to work hard, continue staying focused and pushing myself, so for me that's the focus right now,” he said. “I don't know how fast I can go but I definitely try to go faster each year. I enjoy being challenged all the time.” Speaking a day after the West Indies overcame Sri Lanka in the World Twenty20 final to claim their first world title in 33 years, Bolt said he loved cricket. “It was my first love but I don't play much now. The only time I play now is with my brother,” said the runner, who played junior cricket before turning to track and earlier this year flirted with playing in Australia's domestic Twenty20 league. “If I wasn't in athletics I would probably have a career somewhere else in sport,” he added. — AP
