On the straight, my body didn’t respond.
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“I want to say so”, he added.
Yet, it was a amusing sight.
The US track and field team is on a magnificent run in Rio. But he wasn’t smiling.
It took Bolt longer than usual to get there in the Olympic 200m final – 19.78 seconds – in his last individual Olympic race.
Way up ahead, Bolt gave every ounce of effort – no hot-dogging or celebrating early as was his wont in some of his best 100s – his arms pumping hard, face twisted with pain and effort as he hugged the left edge of his lane and approached the line. Slapping his thighs nearly in frustration, it was more of a man disappointed at himself than winning it anyway, by a yard that always seems like a mile.
Bolt’s victories are measured first by the space he puts between himself and the field, and then by the time that registers on the infield clock. He was back to being the darling of the stadium. But, time used to take time, now, it’s quicker off the blocks than the man once used to be. Someone asked him about goodbyes from 200m and the Olympics.
“I just really want this one to make it nine, because I like them in threes”, said Bolt. “It’s going to take a little while to get over that I think”.
“My coach has a way of trying to convince me, but personally I believe this is my last one”.
With a third consecutive sweep of the 100m, 200m and relay sprints in sight on Friday, August 19, the world’s fastest man argued he should be in the pantheon of sporting heroes with Pele, Muhammad Ali and Michael Phelps. I hope after these Games I will be in that bracket.
“When I went to Athens in 2004 I just went there and I didn’t go through from the first round”.
Bolt was only sprinter to break the 20 second barrier in the wet conditions, clocking a time of 19.78 to win his eighth Olympic Games gold medal.
Spain was always going to be in the way of the USA men’s basketball team at the Rio Olympics – whether it was playing for the gold medal, as they had in the last two Olympics, or just for the chance to get into the gold medal round.
The 29-year-old told BBC Sport: “I don’t know”.
Bolt said he later found he had a leg injury, pulled out of two meets, returned a month later with more Bolt-like 100m times and went on to conquer Gatlin at the 2015 World Championships. The 200 was even more of a blowout, not surprising seeing as it’s his best event but still marvellous to watch because of his towering superiority.
“I was not pleased with my time. All we had to do is the same thing and the same plan that we had the first time – just get out there and absolutely execute it”. “It is because of this, we won’t see faster races”, he had said, promising too that more world records were to come in the future. The 200m is my favourite event.
“I’m getting old”, Bolt said. That’s why, smart cookie that he is, Bolt was saying goodbye.
Ashton Eaton retained his title by tying the Olympic record in the decathlon, Ryan Crouser led an American one-two in the shot put with a new games record, and Kerron Clement delivered another gold for the U.S. in the 400m hurdles.
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“I honestly don’t know”, Doyle, a member of the 4x400m relay team, said of her performance.
