Bolt wants roof over his head for Polish race

Six-time Olympic champion Usain Bolt is hoping the roof will be closed when he runs his first race in Poland at the Kamila Skolimowska Memorial in Warsaw on Saturday.

The Jamaican world record holder will have his eyes on a special mark when he competes over 100 meters on a newly laid track at Warsaw's National Stadium, which has a retractable roof.

"I've never run indoors, I was always too tall," Bolt joked at a news conference on Wednesday. "When I heard there was going to be a roof, I was looking forward to that."

If the roof is closed, the competition would count as an indoor event, a novelty in itself for Bolt, but the new surface could call into question the legitimacy of any times set.

The towering Bolt, however, said, perhaps with his tongue placed firmly in his cheek, he is looking to challenge Namibian Frankie Fredericks's unofficial indoor world record of 10.05 sec set in 1996.

"If they treat it as an indoor world record it'll be good for me," said Bolt, who holds the 100 and 200m outdoor world records. "It's always good to have more records."

Even if it is unofficial.

Bolt has recently spoken of his plans to retire from athletics after the 2017 World Championships in London, where he won three Olympic gold medals two years ago.

As an avid Manchester United fan, who frequently attends the English Premier League club's games and has even trained with it, he has plans to try his hand at professional soccer once he leaves the track.

"I always watch football games and see a few players and, I won't say any names, but I could do much better," he said.

"So I want to try and see if I really could do it. Hopefully I get a chance."

(China Daily 08/22/2014 page24)