Rio Olympics 2016: Usain Bolt completes incredible triple sprint clean sweep with 4×100 metre relay gold
USAIN BOLT brought the curtain down on his Olympic career in the perfect way — with a TRIPLE TRIPLE.
The Jamaican icon said on the eve of this morning’s men’s 4x100m relay showdown that he just wanted a gold medal. He liked them in threes.
Usain Bolt celebrates after crossing the line to bow out with a perfect Olympic record
Well today, he will celebrate his 30th birthday with NINE Olympic titles, equalling the all-time record on the track set by American sprinter Carl Lewis and Finnish legend Paavo Nurmi.
Three at Beijing 2008, three at London 2012 and now three at Rio 2016.
Added to that are his three world records in the 100m, 200m and the 4x100m. No man has ever before won three Olympic gold medals in each sprint event, with Bolt doubling Lewis’ total tally on the track.
He has also won 11 world titles and, but for a blip at the World Championships in South Korea in 2011 when he famously false-started in the 100m, he would have that triple triple, too.
Greatness. Immortality. Finally, Bolt is up there like he craved with legends such as Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan and Pele. Maybe even Bob Marley!
Last night’s outing was the final time he will be seen on the track at the Olympics — not just Rio — as he said an emotional farewell to the Games. He made his debut as an 18-year-old in Athens when he failed to get through the 200m heats.
Once again there were more fans at the Olympic Stadium than in most sessions — the Bolt effect working its magic again as the full moon shone down from above.
Asafa Powell ran the first leg, passing the baton to Yohan Blake before Nickel Ashmeade made a slick move to Bolt for the anchor.
The Jamaican team won in a time of 37.27sec with Japan second in 37.60s and USA third in 37.62s. Britain were sixth in 37.98s.
Bolt will now bring the curtain down on his career at the World Championships in London next summer, but has pledged to just run the 100m and 4x100m relay there.
He said: “I just want to be remembered as one of the greats. I have worked all my career and all my life for this moment so hopefully people can read about me as one of the greatest to do the sport.
“I’m not worried about world records, the only one I really wanted was to break the 200m here again. With the 4x100m relay, I just wanted a gold medal. I like them in threes.
“There’s nothing else I can do. I’ve proved to the world that I am the greatest.
“This is why I said it’s my last Olympics because I can’t prove anything else.
“This was one more step to go. One more step up to these guys. Ali. Pele.”
As for Jamaican legend Bob Marley too?
He grinned: “That’s not for me to say.
“But if Bob Marley were alive and he was going to write a song about me, then I think it should be called THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME.”
Meanwhile, Britain’s two fastest men were missing for the final in the early hours of this morning.
James Dasaolu and CJ Ujah, who are among just six Brits in history to have broken the ten-second barrier for the 100m, did not make the final cut. Dasolu picked up an injury in the individual 100m on Sunday, despite failing to get through the semi-finals, and was unable to recover in time.
But Ujah was dropped in favour of Adam Gemili for the anchor leg in the final.
They were both in the quartet that clinched the European title in Amsterdam last month and then set a world-leading time at the Anniversary Games in London three weeks ago.
The rest of that line-up here in Rio was James Ellington, Richard Kilty and Harry Aikines-Aryeetey.
And there was astonishment among many when the line-up was announced two hours before the showdown.
Ten runners have travelled in the 4x100m relay squad — with a multitude of options — prompting concern from Olympic 4x100m gold medallist Darren Campbell.
He told SunSport earlier this week that when there were also ten at Sydney 2000 it caused rows, with the team dropping the baton in the heat and destroying their chances of getting on the podium.