Sadly for Jaysuma Saidy Ndure, Norway's leading sprinter, his closing comments during the press conference held in Oslo's City Hall went unheeded as the media corps and the many suited and booted guests assembled turned their full attention to a lanky figure wearing a brilliant white baseball cap.

The echoing chamber buzzed with excitement as photographers gravitated towards the new arrival like water going down a plughole.

In the very space where Nobel Peace Prize winners such as Barack Obama, Nelson Mandela and Mother Theresa have accepted their awards, Usain Bolt was creating his own inimitable commotion.

While a Nobel Peace Prize looks a little beyond Bolt's range right now, his ambitions within the chosen domain of athletics remain huge.

And before he left the building, he gave several TV interviewers to understand that he was seriously considering playing for Manchester United at a later point in his life.

How, you wondered, would he find the time to be an astronaut as well?

Bolt has already transcended his sport.

But he is still in it.


And in a year when all his attention is being focused on retaining the world titles he won in stupendous, world record-breaking fashion two years ago, even an athlete as accomplished as this 24-year-old Jamaican has to take some steps along the way.

His next step being a 200 metres in a rainy Bislett Stadium in the latest edition of the Samsung Diamond League meetings, where his fastest rival - Ndure - was almost half a second slower than he was.

For all his stellar status, however, Bolt has begun this season looking very good rather than excellent.

Not his normal style.

Having returned to the track after an eight month absence enforced by a longstanding back injury, he arrived in Oslo having won two 100 metres races in 9.91sec.

Highly respectable, but set alongside the times already being set by two of his most eager rivals, not convincing.

Tyson Gay, who beat Bolt in Stockholm last August in what was the Jamaican's last race of the season, has already gone to the top of this year's 100m world rankings with last Sunday's time of 9.79 at a minor meeting in the United States.

On the same day, Bolt's Jamaican colleague Steve Mullings won the 100m in Eugene in 9.80.

Interesting.

Bolt maintained, quite sensibly, that he was making a gradual comeback after a long break, adding that as far as he was concerned, he wouldn't care if he lost every race leading up to the World Championships as long as he retained his titles in Daegu.

It was all about taking things step by step.

Among those witnessing his appearance was the only other man in the last 50 years to have combined winning the Olympic 100m title with breaking the world record - Donovan Bailey, the Canadian who crossed the line with a look of demented joy on his face at the 1996 Atlanta Games having stopped the clock at 9.84.

Asked earlier in the conference to assess Bolt's start to the season in comparison to his rivals, his response was considered.

"It's a start to the season," Bailey told the auditorium.

"He hasn't lost so I think it's a good start.

"I think this is partly a media thing.

"Usain spoilt us by running 9.58, so when he runs 9.91 he is expected to do more.

"He is doing that when he hasn't raced for the last eight months.

"And there are still eight weeks to go until the World Championships.

"I think he will be ready in Daegu.

"There are a lot of other guys running fast right now, like Tyson Gay and Steve Mullings.

"If you are going to get a mental edge, maybe right now is the time."

So did that mean he felt Gay and Mullings had got a mental edge now over the Olympic and world champion?

As Bailey made his way up the stairs to sample the champagne and strawberries annually provided to guests on the eve of this hallowed meeting, I checked his progress as I sought clarification.


You could almost smell the sweetness of the strawberries, almost feel the bubbles fizzing at the brim.

His face registered only a moment of frustration before he turned to the task of clarification.

"You can't go too fast too early," he told me.

"Tyson has got himself injury-free and running well, and Mullings is the new kid on the block.

"If they were running these times and they had already run 10, 15 races then you could say they had peaked too early.

"But that's not the case."

And so now they had an edge?

No they didn't.

Not over Bolt.

Only an advantage in their own terms.

"There's no level playing field," Bailey said with his characteristic puckish grin.

"There's Usain.

"And then there's people.

"But the problem for Usain now is that the media will be looking at him every time he runs the 100 metres and saying is this going to be the time he beats 9.58?

"It could go on for years.

"And maybe he doesn't, maybe he only runs 9.61.

"But what does that matter if he wins every gold medal going?"

As he had sat on the podium, doing his PR duty, Bolt had occasionally stared up at the huge murals surrounding him.

Painted by Henrik Sørensen, and depicting Norwegian history and legend, they are entitled Administration and Festivity.

For Bolt, there is much administration – and execution, let's not forget execution – ahead, before further festivity can commence.

Having executed his press conference, he left by the main door, bumping into Ndure.

And then, as athletes like to do, literally bumping into him and knuckling his knuckles.

"Tomorrow," said the exiting champion, photographers and TV cameramen still accompanying him as if he were a pilot fish.

"Yeah, man," said Ndure.

Mike Rowbottom, one of Britain's most talented sportswriters, has covered the last five Summer and four Winter Olympics for The Independent. Previously he has worked for the Daily Mail, The Times, The Observer, the Sunday Correspondent and The Guardian. He is now chief feature writer for insidethegames. Rowbottom's Twitter feed can be accessed at www.twitter.com/rowbo1