'I Am Bolt', the new feature length documentary starring Usain Bolt, shines a light on the nine times Olympic gold medalist's build up to the Rio 2016 games. The film covers all aspects of the athlete's life on and off the track, as he handles everything thrown at him, from injuries to trash talk from competitors.
Filmmaker brothers Gabe and Benjamin Turner lived and trained with Bolt for 18 months, gaining unparalleled access to the athlete’s life. They go behind the confident façade of a man who has less than 10 seconds to prove himself when he competes, revealing anxieties and a range of emotions exposed before and after competitions.
In some moments of the film, the Turner brothers don’t have to do much. At one point Bolt takes the camera and films himself, expressing his frustration, sense of loneliness and boredom - producing a scene directors could never script.
Filmmaker brothers Gabe and Benjamin Turner lived and trained with Bolt for 18 months, gaining unparalleled access to the athlete’s life. They go behind the confident façade of a man who has less than 10 seconds to prove himself when he competes, revealing anxieties and a range of emotions exposed before and after competitions.
In some moments of the film, the Turner brothers don’t have to do much. At one point Bolt takes the camera and films himself, expressing his frustration, sense of loneliness and boredom - producing a scene directors could never script.
Bolt’s Motivations Revealed
Usain Bolt aspires to be the best ever and a man remembered alongside names like Muhammad Ali and Pele. Keeping his long-term goal in mind feeds his training and motivation, and it is this critical insight that helps the film portray him as both a top athlete and a mere mortal. Bolt trains intensively, but he freely admits he could never train as hard as Mo Farah, whose sheer volume of work is enough to put Bolt off running the 400m. Interestingly, his coach has suggested in the past that his best events could be the 400m or 800m.
Winning Record
Usain Bolt has won nine Olympic gold medals over three Olympics in Beijing, London and Rio in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m men’s relay. He is the world’s most decorated sprinter and the current world record and Olympic record holder. He has run the fastest and second fastest times of all time for 100m, at 9.58 and 9.63 seconds.
