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USAIN BOLT’S RETURN TO AISTS AND IMD

USAIN BOLT’S RETURN TO AISTS AND IMD

Usain Bolt made his third visit to Lausanne to take part in the AISTS and IMD conference named The Art & Science of Winning on August 22nd 2012.

The fastest man on earth spoke about his experience and shared some secrets on his continued success, with a lucky audience of 350 business executives, IMD MBA participants and AISTS MAS in Sport Administration participants & Alumni.

The man nicknamed “Lightning Bolt” amazed the world yet again at the London Olympics earlier in August, by winning the 100m and 200m races before securing Jamaica’s 4x100m gold medal in a world record time.

This was a repeat of his spectacular performance at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where he also won all three events and set world records in each, becoming the first man to do so at a single Olympic Games.

Bolt made several surprising revelations to the audience of the AISTS and IMD conference, as when he stated plainly: “I was always a bad starter. I’m still not great”.

He then explained that he tries to focus on his strengths rather than his weaknesses. “My coach Glen Mills told me the last 50 meters is the best part of my race, so I should just concentrate on getting to top speed.”

As expected, the discussion with world record holder Bolt gave participants food for thought as he discussed how he stayed motivated despite his incredible achievements so far. “There are always things to motivate you. There are a lot of different events in track and field, and you can always aim to go faster by tweaking a few things” Bolt said.

He further added: “Having a lot of good people around me helps me stay focused, because you’re sometimes going to lose sight of what you want. Having a supporting team is very important.”

The event was organised by AISTS and IMD, and supported by Athletissima, UBS, Vaudoise Insurance and the City of Lausanne. Bolt competed in the Athletissima event in Lausanne on August 23, winning the 200m in 19.58 seconds.

Relive the conference by watching the IMD video here.

About the AISTS

The International Academy of Sports Science and Technology (AISTS) was founded in 2000 by the IOC and leading Swiss institutions and universities. A not-for-profit foundation, the AISTS is committed to professionalising sports management through continuing education, applied research and an engaging platform for industry connections. Our flagship program is the postgraduate Master of Advanced Studies in Sport Administration and Technology – educating aspiring sport managers from all over the world since 2003. Each year, the AISTS delivers over 900 hours of continuing education, workshops, seminars and projects, bringing together over 100 international sports experts in the sciences of Management, Technology, Law, Medicine, and Sociology – all in the efforts of building a better world through sport.