The Jamaican completed the “triple triple” of 100, 200 and 4×100 metres titles by anchoring his country to relay victory in his final Olympic race in Rio on Friday. The celebrations certainly will be huge after this momentous achievement.
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The soccer championship is the headline event on a day that features a full slate of track and field, the USA women basketball team getting for another gold, the future of boxing on display in a medal bout and a Hall of Fame golfer pulling off an impressive comeback.
The image immediately went viral, with hundreds of thousands of people sharing it across social media and turning it into amusing memes.
Bolt said after winning his ninth gold medal that he was going to party. I’ve had injury problems, but I’m also sad that I have to leave. This is my last one… “I never knew this would happen when I started out”.
There is no doubt that Bolt has transformed his sport, if only by nearly single-handedly displacing the United States as the superpower of men’s sprinting.
He has the word records in all three events, although in a sign that age may be catching up with him, he failed to smash his own record in the 200m in Rio.
Usain Bolt has met the man responsible for one of the greatest sporting images ever taken, snapped during the semi-finals of the 100m. “And they did exactly that, I had no work to do, just to run to the line”.
Trayvon Bromell’s dip for the line was so aggressive that he tumbled over but the United States still thought they were settling for bronze in 37.62s. Canada were elevated to bronze. “We had a good warm-up, we had a good chemistry in the background so we came out here with confidence just to try to win and take the record”, he stressed. “Relief. I’ve had all this pressure over the years…”
It was the flawless way for the sport’s biggest star to leave its biggest stage.
“It sucks to see he’s going to be on his way out”, De Grasse said Saturday. I’ve done like 500 since I’ve been here.
And appearing to confirm that this will be his last Olympics, Bolt added: “I’m going to miss the crowd, the energy and the competition”.
American Tyson Gay was the last man to beat Bolt in a major championship final – in the 200 metres at the 2007 worlds in Osaka – and, like numerous other sprinters in the final, he had nothing but praise for the Jamaican.
“It’s a great feeling”, said the 29-year-old.
“Words can’t describe that type of a guy and what he’s done for the sport. Everybody just appreciates what he’s done”.
Now Bolt has ended his historic career in Rio as the second most successful Olympian of all time – with only American swimmer Michael Phelps ahead of him. “So it gives me hope to show the world that the impossible is possible”.
Cyclists, bottom row from right, Anthony Dean of Australia, Twan van Gendt of the Netherlands, Niek Kimmann of the Netherlands, and Trent Jones of New Zealand compete in the men’s BMX cycling semifinal during the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Aug. 19, 2016.
Dedication is what he believed earned him this greatness. “He’s proven it over and over, every time”. I have proved it over and over again that I have done it clean.
But then the best comment probably came from the legend’s mother.
Bolt and Bennett have been going at it strong for the past three years, Bolt revealed. “He was probably born to run”.
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She couldn’t have been more closer to the truth.
