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Usain Bolt needed time away after friend’s death

Related Topics: Usain Bolt, Germaine Mason

Usain Bolt said he wasn’t ready to train for two weeks after friend Germaine Mason, a 2008 Olympic high jump silver medalist, died in a motorcycle crash April 20.

“It was rough for me,” Bolt told reporters in Jamaica last week. “It took us by surprise and kind of set me back a little bit training-wise because, mentally, I wasn’t ready to even train for two weeks, or two and a half weeks. I had to take off and just try to collect myself. I’m just actually working hard now to try to get back to where I was, but I’m confident in myself and in my coach that we can get it done because I’ve done it for years and years.