Usain Bolt feels athletics is ‘missing a superstar’ who can excite crowds again

Usain Bolt believes athletics needs a shake-up to make it more exciting for fans of a sport that has been “missing a superstar” since he hung up his spikes.

The fastest man in history captured the world’s attention during his stunning, medal-laden sprint career, winning 100m and 200m gold at every World Championships and Olympics between 2009 and 2016.

Nobody looks likely to break Bolt’s world records over those distances any time soon, nor does anyone look able to fill the void left by the Jamaican superstar and showman.

But the 36-year-old, who retired in 2017, believes athletics can thrive if tweaks are made to ensure it is more attractive and exciting.

“I think the sport now is maybe just missing a superstar,” Bolt told the PA news agency.

“I mean, when I left people were looking for the next person who is going to step up and really shine and stand out. I think that’s what the sport is missing right now.

“I think also we’ve talked about it for years that the sport needs to change the way it’s set up but that’s for next time because I think we need to make it a lot more exciting.

“I think that’s a problem with track and field. It’s not as exciting so people don’t want to watch.

“So, if you don’t have a superstar that stands out like I did, then it’s going to be hard to draw the big crowds and draw that attention that you want.”

US sprint great Michael Johnson recently tweeted that the number of fans who love athletics is “shrinking”, highlighting the need for better storytelling and marketing.

Bolt believes the sport “needs to be changed a little bit” and “adjusted” so people can be “excited and enjoy watching the meets and stuff”.

“We have talked about it for many years, but nothing has happened,” he said. “But I