Every part of Usain Bolt’s pre-race Olympic press conference was gold
Usain Bolt impressed and had the crowd on their feet during and after his pre-race Olympic press conference on Monday in Rio.
The track and field portion of the Olympics hasn’t even started yet but Usain Bolt has already got fans excited about the upcoming races. The Jamaican sprinter and world record holder in the 100m, 200m and 4 x 100m was the star, as he always is, at a press conference on Monday.
“First of all, you got to clap louder than that,” Bolt said when addressing journalists as he took the stage.
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The conference room was packed for the event as Bolt, who has been situated in the Athletes’ Village for the past week, made his first appearance for journalists. NBC Olympics reports that the theatre is the largest in South America and there wasn’t an empty seat to be found.
Moderate turn out for @usainbolt pic.twitter.com/kYOEnvMFAC
— Paul Kelso (@pkelso) August 8, 2016
This journalist just won @usainbolt‘s signed shoes at the press conference ? We’re slightly jealous ? #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/gDsWvFmdmn
— Rio 2016 (@Rio2016_en) August 8, 2016
Bolt makes his grand entrance
After saying that journalists needs to be louder upon stepping onto the stage, Bolt continued to get the crowd excited. He then took a set next to triple jump world record holder Jonathan Edwards for an interview.
.@usainbolt makes his grand entrance into press conference. #athletics pic.twitter.com/eODlri7CmB
— Rio 2016 (@Rio2016_en) August 8, 2016
Video: Norwegian raps to Bolt and steals the show
Perhaps the best moment of the press conference was when a Norwegian journalist rapped a verse to Bolt instead of asking him a question. Bolt was so impressed with the display that he made the journalist repeat what he had just said so the sprinter could record and post the footage to his Snapchat account. See here for Bolt’s Snapchat username.
Norwegian journalist just freestyled a Bolt rap instead of asking question, and Bolt got him to repeat it for his snapchat.
— Nick Zaccardi (@nzaccardi) August 8, 2016
“I hope you win. I hope it’s your day. I hope you will go even though you got hit by a Segway,” the reporter told Bolt. The Segway line refers to a cameraman on a Segway taking down Bolt at the world championships in 2015.
One fan of @usainbolt expressed his love for him with a rap/song. #Athletics pic.twitter.com/avOv0Yodpr
— Rio 2016 (@Rio2016_en) August 8, 2016
Bolt exits the stage
Bolt didn’t leave the stage alone as he exited with an entourage of Samba dancers. If his press conference is any sign of what’s to come, the six-time Olympic gold medallist will be putting on a show in the coming weeks as he takes to the track.
So now this is happening. pic.twitter.com/X85cSpgiCG
— Nick Zaccardi (@nzaccardi) August 8, 2016
The 29-year-old admitted that Rio will be his final Olympic Games during his one-on-one interview. He’s going for the triple-triple in the 100m, 200m and 4 x 100m relay, another term for winning three gold medals at the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games.
Usain Bolt walking out of his press conference with a dancing entourage pic.twitter.com/6vm9mIlEBD
— Rick Maese (@RickMaese) August 8, 2016
Track and field action begins this Friday and runs until Aug. 21. Vote for the event you’re most excited to watch here.