USAIN BOLT EXPRESSED his disappointment after bowing out of athletics with a bronze medal at the IAAF World Championships, but the eight-time Olympic champion insists he has no regrets.
Bolt’s farewell did not go according to plan, his illustrious sprint career ending with third place as American Justin Gatlin triumphed in the 100 metres final on Saturday.
All eyes were on Bolt in his final individual outing but the Jamaican icon was upstaged by Gatlin at London Stadium, finishing third behind promising prospect Christian Coleman.
“I told you guys no matter what happened I was going to do my best,” Bolt said.
“I did it for the fans, they wanted one more season. I’m definitely disappointed. But the good thing is I knew I came out here and gave it my all.
“It doesn’t change anything. I lost the race to a great competitor. Came third to a young kid that’s coming up and has a great future ahead of him, so no regrets. It was always going to end, win lose or draw.
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“I’ve done all I can for the sport and myself so it’s time to go.”
Bolt clocked a time of 9.95 seconds in the final – matching a season best – as Gatlin finished three hundredths of a second better off, failing to recover from a bad start.
The winning time of 9.92 seconds was slower than the 9.79 performance Bolt produced at the World Championships in Beijing two years ago.
Asked if there was a link with the slower times and tougher anti-doping control, a dismayed Bolt said: “I’m sure everybody up here takes that very disrespectful. We’ve worked hard. I’ve proven myself over and over again.
“A young kid Coleman has come in and done great, shown the world he’s going to be a great athlete.
“There’s injuries, negativity. To say something like that is disrespectful. Yes it’s slow, but we came out there and put on a good show.”
Reflecting on his slow start out of the blocks, Bolt added: “I really don’t know what to stay about my start. This is the first time I’ve gone through the rounds and it’s been poor. 2015 one of my toughest seasons against Justin I got a good start.
“I looked at my reaction and it was a 186, Coleman was 12X and Justin was like a 140 something and I knew from the start if I didn’t get into the race.”
“200m? It probably would’ve been worse! I’m not in shape to run the 200m right now,” Bolt continued.
“As you can see in my start is bad and the last 50 would be bad too. It’s been a rough season, I lost my friend this year.
“When you’re older it’s hard to get back from injuries. I’ve been through this year after year so it’s time to pack it in.”
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'I've done all I can for the sport and myself so it's time to go': No regrets for Bolt despite bronze finish
USAIN BOLT EXPRESSED his disappointment after bowing out of athletics with a bronze medal at the IAAF World Championships, but the eight-time Olympic champion insists he has no regrets.
Bolt’s farewell did not go according to plan, his illustrious sprint career ending with third place as American Justin Gatlin triumphed in the 100 metres final on Saturday.
All eyes were on Bolt in his final individual outing but the Jamaican icon was upstaged by Gatlin at London Stadium, finishing third behind promising prospect Christian Coleman.
“I told you guys no matter what happened I was going to do my best,” Bolt said.
“I did it for the fans, they wanted one more season. I’m definitely disappointed. But the good thing is I knew I came out here and gave it my all.
“It doesn’t change anything. I lost the race to a great competitor. Came third to a young kid that’s coming up and has a great future ahead of him, so no regrets. It was always going to end, win lose or draw.
“I’ve done all I can for the sport and myself so it’s time to go.”
Bolt clocked a time of 9.95 seconds in the final – matching a season best – as Gatlin finished three hundredths of a second better off, failing to recover from a bad start.
The winning time of 9.92 seconds was slower than the 9.79 performance Bolt produced at the World Championships in Beijing two years ago.
Asked if there was a link with the slower times and tougher anti-doping control, a dismayed Bolt said: “I’m sure everybody up here takes that very disrespectful. We’ve worked hard. I’ve proven myself over and over again.
“A young kid Coleman has come in and done great, shown the world he’s going to be a great athlete.
“There’s injuries, negativity. To say something like that is disrespectful. Yes it’s slow, but we came out there and put on a good show.”
Reflecting on his slow start out of the blocks, Bolt added: “I really don’t know what to stay about my start. This is the first time I’ve gone through the rounds and it’s been poor. 2015 one of my toughest seasons against Justin I got a good start.
“I looked at my reaction and it was a 186, Coleman was 12X and Justin was like a 140 something and I knew from the start if I didn’t get into the race.”
“200m? It probably would’ve been worse! I’m not in shape to run the 200m right now,” Bolt continued.
“As you can see in my start is bad and the last 50 would be bad too. It’s been a rough season, I lost my friend this year.
“When you’re older it’s hard to get back from injuries. I’ve been through this year after year so it’s time to pack it in.”
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Bolt Farewell? Justin Gatlin Legend London 2017 World Championships