When Usain Bolt began his athletics career, he was a middle distance runner and with his height was never expected to turn his eye towards the shorter sprints. A height of just less than six feet was considered a necessity and the norm for the 100m athlete – until Bolt burst on to the scene. Bolt's uncanny ability to tear forward after the initial slow start has seen him break the world record set by compatriot Asafa Powell – initially in 2008 by 0.02 seconds but in a year by an inhuman 0.16 seconds. The record appears to be set for an unbroken stint at the top at least for the next few decades. However, seven years after that record and despite not having been able to emulate that peak, Bolt has continued to run – and win.

Discussing how his height has impacted his running and relating to the time when rival Tyson Gay remarked how Bolt's “knees were going past” his face during the race, Bolt said, “My height is a disadvantage at the start of the race but a great advantage as I get into my running.”

“Just being blessed to share my personality with the world. I have had many setbacks but thanks to the value system instilled in me by my parents, I am being able to work hard to overcome (those setbacks),” he said.

Bolt also replied to a query on the famous untied shoelace incident at the Beijing Olympics and said, That just happened. It wasn't deliberate. I didn't notice until people told me.”

The conversation inevitably ended with Bolt being asked about the recent Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUE) controversy that has shown athletes including Simone Biles, Venus Williams taking drugs under specific conditions allowed by the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA). Asked about his view on TUE, Bolt said, “I don't make the rules. Whatever the rules are I work with.”

He also praised the world bodies for the work they have done to stem the menace of doping that has plagued the athletics world. “I think IAAF and WADA are doing a great job to clean the sport up, so I encourage our fans to keep faith,” said Bolt to TNN.