It’s happened. “I am just happy, proud of myself”. And he is leaving the sport in the grandest possible way – three gold each in three consecutive Olympics.
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With most of the other debates over about greatest this, greatest that, a new one might be whether Bolt now surpasses Marley as the most famous person to rock the world from the country known for sea, sun and sprints.
The victory which came two days before his 30th birthday also marked Bolt’s ninth gold medal in three successive Olympic games.
All week, when asked a hundred different ways if this really is his last Olympics, he kept saying yes.
Meanwhile, Bolt has previously said that cultural differences means he approaches fidelity differently.
Bolt ran the anchor leg to add the Rio relay crown to the 100 meters and 200 meters titles he had already won for a third straight Games dating back to 2008 in Beijing, China.
In what may have been his final act at an Olympic Games, Usain Bolt took his career medal haul at the showpiece event to nine on Saturday morning – and went on to proclaim that he is now the greatest. Bolt led the Jamaican relay team to a victory in the 4X100-meters race with a time of 37.27 seconds. I just have mixed feelings now.
It leaves Bolt, who will retire in 2017, level with Carl Lewis and Paavo Nurmi on nine Olympic gold medals, a record for a track and field athlete.
Ryoto Yamagata had run a blistering opening leg for Japan, who won a stunning silver for their first Olympic medal in the sprint relay in 37.60, improving the Asian record they set in qualifying.
Asafa Powell, the former world record holder but restricted to relay duty this time, kicked things off strongly, against American lead-off Mike Rodgers.
“No one will be able to tell him … that he’s not he greatest”, de Grasse said.
After controversy nearly kept the United States women’s 4×100-meter relay team out of Friday’s final, the group instead was able to defend its Olympic title.
Indeed, that is the justification Bolt uses for his decision to make Rio his last Olympics, though he has committed to running at next year’s world championships.
“I’ll stay up late tonight, just talking and having fun”. It’s going on day 10 and I feel worse today. As a result, Canada was elevated to the bronze-medal position.
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“As soon as I got the baton, I knew I was going to win this one”.
