Usain Bolt's mother said what?

An unexpected headline in the UK newspaper the Daily Telegraph caught our attention on Thursday. "London 2012 Olympics: Usain Bolt may try something new 'to maintain interest'", it read.

This wouldn't normally move the needle since we knew that Bolt was considering other events further down the line in his career, but it was the "London 2012" part that jumped off the page and punched us in the gullet. Previously, all indications had been that Bolt was considering new events like the 400m or the long jump for the Rio Games in 2016. But not 2012.

Who, you may ask, was this new information attributed to? None other than Bolt's mother herself.

Reporteth the Telegraph, "Speaking in London , [Jennifer Bolt] said her son ‘might change things around a bit and try something new' for the 2012 Olympic Games."

It's worth noting that the only part of the quote that's attributed to Bolt's mother is the "might change things around a bit and try something new" part, and not the part in which we hear when he might make the switch. So it's very possible - probably even likely - that this was a situation in which her quote was misreported, misheard or misinterpreted, and all along Mrs. B was referring to Rio rather than London.

After all, last we checked, Bolt still has something rather significant to attempt two summers from now. No Olympian has ever won repeat gold in the 100m and 200m, and the three-time Beijing gold medalist could add his second straight 4x100m relay title as well.

One more footnote that potentially settles the debate: When asked if her son could run faster than his world-record times from last year's World Championships in Berlin, Mrs. Bolt told the newspaper, "Yes he can do more, but not a world record this year; 2012 will be the year."

Survey says: Misinterpretation of quote. In other words, don't go purchasing Olympic tickets to the 400m or the long jump expecting to see Usain Bolt in those events in 2012. The smart money says what the forecast has said all along: The script doesn't change for the world's fastest man in London, even if it was momentarily (and somewhat surprisingly) rewritten.