Trash Talking Doesn’t Scare Me

Your dad ran the local grocery, but it's not clear what that means in the Jamaican context. Were you poor, middle class, rich?
We weren't rich, that's for sure. My dad worked hard to send me to school, but I got everything I wanted. Even now he's a hard worker—I tell him to stop work but he doesn't want it. He's a proud guy.

How about the discipline he imposed? You've talked about how everyone in Jamaica gets hit.
My dad was really serious, because his dad was serious, when it comes to respect and discipline. One thing he was serious about was respect to all people, no matter who they are, even crazy people on the street. That's the way I was brought up: step over the line and you get disciplined. And I thank him every day for that, because that's what makes me what I am now: this laid-back, nice person everyone likes to be around.

Is that discipline part of the secret to Jamaican success in sprinting?
For me, it worked.

You've linked Jamaica's success to its slave heritage. Can you explain?
Yeah, most of the athletes in Jamaica are from this area they call the Cockpit Country; that's where most of the Jamaican slaves were. And if you check the guys who are really fast, they come from the surrounding area. I personally think it has something to do with slavery, and the power of the Africans they brought there.

Your $10 million goal—how's that going?
Oh, ask this guy. [Gestures to his agent.]

That quote has been attributed to you. Is he the one who really said that?
Yeah, he's the one who said it, and he's the one who's gonna work on it.

So you don't think about money?
You do think about money, because you can't do this forever.

© 2009