When Bolt roared to the finish line in the 200m final she told her 2,176 twitter followers: “This level of pride is unfathomable”.
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He opened a multi-sport playing field in Jamaica, raised funds for pediatric cardiac surgeries and paid for a $4 million renovation to a local health center, using the proceeds from a party he threw to celebrate breaking the 100m world record.
Bolt took over on the last leg with a narrow deficit to Japan but soon overcame it and won by a wide-margin after some fine support from Asafa Powell, Yohan Blake and Nickel Ashmeade.
The U.S. women, granted an unprecedented do-over in Thursday’s qualifying after a dropped baton was ruled due to an impermissible hit-and-run by the Brazilians, ran Friday night to gold in 41.01: Tianna Bartoletta to Allyson Felix to English Gardner to Tori Bowie. Unlike the reggae great, who died of cancer at 36, Bolt has the option of planning his next career move.
US sprinter Tyson Gay says “nine gold medals, words can’t even describe what he’s done for the sport”. “Everybody just appreciates what he’s done”.
The victory gave Bolt a total haul of nine gold in three Olympic Games, a record he now shares with Finnish distance runner Paavo Nurmi and American sprinter and long jumper Carl Lewis.
But in Rio, he competed in what he has said will be his last Olympics.
“It’s come true”, said Bolt, who overcame a hamstring injury earlier in the summer, then shined throughout a seven-day, seven-race stint in Rio, counting all the heats.
“I’m trying to be one of the greatest”.
And how did he achieve greatness? “I’ve proven to the world I’m the greatest in the sport, so it’s mission accomplished pretty much”. Dad and I had never seen such a combination of speed and personality before. Team USA and Jamaica could not have been more loaded. Goalkeeper Ashleigh Johnson, the first African-American to make the women’s national team, was superb with nine saves on 13 shots after being critical of her own level of play during the tournament.
“It felt like we were really strong tonight”.
Greece’s Ekaterini Stefanidi won the women’s pole vault after virus-stricken defending champion Jenn Suhr crashed out. There was an upset as Vivian Cheruiyot powered past slumping favorite Almaz Ayana of Ethiopia and set an Olympic record of 14 minutes, 26.17 seconds.
Lochte said in a lengthy post on Instagram that he was apologising for his role in taking the focus away from other Olympic athletes.
The Australian athletes detained by police in Rio de Janeiro after a flap over credentials at an Olympic basketball game have been released and a team official says they will pay a fine. “I’m the first Indian woman to get a silver medal at the Olympics so that’s a great thing for me”, she beamed.
At the same time, silver for Jamaica allowed Veronica Campbell-Brown to win a medal at a fifth Olympics dating back to the 2000 Sydney Games.
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Australia lost to Serbia 87-61 and will face Spain for the bronze. The match at the Maracana comes two years after Germany humiliated the hosts 7-1 in the World Cup semi-final at the same legendary stadium.
