Since Bolt's Olympic success, enthusiasts and athletes, young and old, have enquired about the training system that took this young man towards international success. How did he do it? How can others do it? Can other aspiring athletes be 'like' Usain Bolt? To give you a small window into this world, we asked Coach Glen Mills, a few simple questions about the athlete and their Journey.

Interview with Usain Bolt's coach Glen Mills
National Stadium on Monday, June 15, 2009.

Q: What are the essential components of a first rate athlete? Does Usain Bolt possess all these components?

Well that's a hard question to answer. The 'components?' There are really no specific ones, but there are some commonalities you look forward to. Everybody comes in a different mold but there are three things that I would mention that would be common to everybody and those are, the passion for what you are doing, the dedication and the commitment. Those are three things that everybody should have if they're going to be successful. There are lots more, but people have done well without some of them and people have failed to do well even with all of them.

Usain does have the passion and he does love the sport and he's committed and, in his own way, he's dedicated. There are some other things that he could do with more hard work, but he's not a person that has a passion for that kind of thing. He does enough to do well. 

Q: From the perspective as coach, give a quick assessment of Bolt's athletic talent and skill as it was when you first started working with him.

When I started with him he had accomplished quite a lot already as a Junior. He was the World Record holder in the 200m, he was already a World Junior Champion at the distance, and he clearly demonstrated that he was a young man of exceptional talent. After his achievement he suffered a series of setbacks and injury was one of them. This affected his overall ability and confidence and so on, and these were some of the things we tackled at the beginning so that he could then continue on the journey of developing his full potential.

Q: How has Bolt's competence grown in the years you have coached him?

Well he has matured significantly. His maturity has outweighed his age, because he's just 22 and he started at the top at a very tender age. During the earlier periods of growth and maturity he still had a lot of uncontrolled teenage tendencies and so on but he has gradually learned to curb most of them and he's able to create the kind of balance that is necessary to become a true professional.

Q: Give a quick summary of Bolt's ideal weekly training goals. 

It's hard for me to put it in a capsule like that, because it doesn�t really work on a weekly basis. It's on a 'cycle' basis which is several weeks or even more. But, I would say at the beginning of each season we try to develop his strength to a higher level because he's a big person and his physical structure is demanding; performance is demanding and his physical structure and sprinting requires a great deal of strength. We try to improve his coordination and that's a very crucial part of sprinting. He has to be coordinated in order to be effective, and we try to improve his biomechanical execution of his races so that he can improve based on efficiency.

Q: What do you think will be the key to Bolt continuing to have success in years to come?

Well it is important that he doesn't become too satisfied with what he has achieved to date because he, in his short career, has attained more than most people have attained in a lifetime, and if he gets satisfied or complacent, this could be his biggest hurdle.

Q: What would you recommend for other young athletes who would like to have a similar level of success?

Well they have to love the sport, they have to be committed and they have to be patient because success doesn't necessarily come in the kind of sequence that they would expect. Sometimes you have to wait a considerable amount of time before your success comes but once you're committed and you have the passion you will work until you get the breakthrough.

Q: Anything else you think is important to say to youths who look up to Bolt and want a window into Bolt's training program?

What I would encourage youngsters to do is to be disciplined and as I said be patient, and listen keenly to those who are guiding you. In order to be successful you have to have a strong belief and confidence in what you're doing.