Several left-handed athletes went on to achieve great things, but is Usain Bolt part of this group?
Usain Bolt is right-handed. The Olympic sprinter favored his left hand in some of his ad campaigns with Gatorade, but they were a rare exception since he performs most activities with his right hand.
Right-Handed or Not?
If you’re convinced that Usain Bolt is left-handed, it’s probably because you stumbled upon one of his Gatorade ads. He’s been working with this sports drinks company for years, and they even produced an adorable animated short film inspired by his life, titled The Boy Who Learned to Fly.
Bolt is drinking Gatorade in many of their campaigns, and some of them show him holding it with his left hand. The best example is a sweet ad from 2016, also starring Serena Williams, Paul George, and April Ross, which shows them training alongside their younger selves.
These photos are not sufficient proof of Bolt’s left-handedness since he also held Gatorade in his right hand in other ads. These photos probably have nothing to do with his handedness, since it all comes down to presenting the product in the best possible light.
A person can hold objects in their left hand without being a southpaw, and it all comes down to which hand they use for writing. When it comes to Usain Bolt, he’s 100% right-handed, judging by the photos that show him signing autographs for his adoring fans.
The “Lightning Bolt” Pose
In addition to asking him for autographs, Bolt’s fans enjoy posing for photos with their favorite sprinter. Instead of taking ordinary front camera selfies like other celebrities, the Jamaican athlete is often asked to perform his signature “lightning bolt” pose.
Also known as “to di world” or “bolting”, this move became a viral sensation after Bolt celebrated his Olympic and World Championship victories by performing it. The Olympic sprinter said he came up with “bolting” because he wanted to have a signature move just like Michael Jordan, but there’s more to this pose than meets the eye.
Bolt’s signature pose was a popular dancehall move in Jamaica before he took it and made it his own. He used the name “to di world” because it feels like he’s “connecting to the people of the world” every time he does it.
This move mimics the shape of a lightning bolt, and one can perform it by raising their left arm to the side and folding their right across the chest. Bolt also tends to outstretch his thumb and index finger when doing this move.
This pose became so popular that the Olympic champion tends to perform it during each public appearance. Bolt even did the “lightning bolt” alongside Barack Obama when he paid a presidential visit to Jamaica in 2015.
Dealing with Scoliosis
Being left-handed can be a significant obstacle for athletes in certain disciplines, but running isn’t one of them. Usain Bolt would probably achieve the same results either way, but he faced his fair share of troubles due to other physical restraints.
Bolt’s success is even more impressive once you find out that he suffered from scoliosis. The Olympic champion revealed that his spine is curved to the right due to this condition, making his right leg half an inch shorter than his left.
Scoliosis didn’t significantly impact his performance when he was younger, but things got worse as years went by, and he had to work much harder to keep this condition in check.
“If I keep my core and back strong, scoliosis doesn’t really bother me. So I don’t have to worry about it as long as I work hard. The early part of my career, when we didn’t really know much about it, it really hampered me because I got injured every year,” Bolt told ESPN.
Scoliosis didn’t stop Bolt from becoming the fastest man alive, but he’s no stranger to some questionable recovery methods and often receives treatments from the controversial German doctor Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt.