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Bolt: refreshingly frank
The facilities and conditions in which he trains are some of the most basic I've ever seen but raw talent doesn't need much, just a stage on which to showcase the goods.
Georgie Thompson
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The world's fastest man is late. Now there's a thing.
Usain Bolt's time keeping on the track is the best there is but today he is running behind.
Not that it matters. We're in Jamaica and Bolt is the personification of the island he calls home; relaxed, laid back and carefree.
This is a man, an athlete who has the weight of a nation on his shoulders and if I'm to believe the reports I've been reading in preparation for this interview, he doesn't feel a thing.
Bolt is just doing what comes naturally to him, running fast, faster than anyone else has ever run before or might ever run in the future.
That's what strikes me most about Bolt when we catch our first glimpse of him at his training camp in Kingston.
The facilities and conditions in which he trains are some of the most basic I've ever seen but raw talent doesn't need much, just a stage on which to showcase the goods.
Easy
As the sun rises over the mountains behind him Bolt is doing what he does best, using his stage and performing to an exclusive audience of journalists, photographers and camera crews.
Great sportsmen make their sport look easy. Bolt makes running the 100m in 9.58 seconds look effortless on the biggest stage of them all.
There are so many things I want to ask him when he does turn up for our interview...
Can he go faster? What does he think of drugs in his sport? When was the last time he ate chicken nuggets?
When the stopwatch starts and Bolt begins to talk it crosses my mind we may not cover everything I want to - but I needn't worry.
Frank
Bolt is happy to answer all of my questions freely and frankly, especially the more probing ones about doping offences that in the past have tainted the event he now dominates.
His honesty and casual attitude to my line of inquiry reflect what we all find so refreshing about him - a no-nonsense approach to life.
When we're done Bolt politely says goodbye, suggests his favourite place for a jerk chicken dinner and wheel spins out of the training complex in his blacked-out BMW.
He is planning to spend the rest of his day playing 'Call of Duty' on his Playstation with his best pal NJ and his old friend and 400m runner Jermaine Gonzales.
It's good to see that Usain Bolt, the fastest man in the world, still finds time to be just any other regular 24-year-old guy.
Don't forget that if you've missed any of our previous episodes or want to watch again, you can find highlights of each programme at www.skysports.com/specialreport or the latest episode on Sky Anytime.
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