Usain Bolt Ends Legendary Career With Injury
The Jamaican great crumpled to the track
with a left-leg injury as he was chasing a final gold medal for the
Jamaican 4x100-meter relay team on Saturday at the world championships.
Having
to make up lots of ground on the anchor leg, Bolt suddenly screamed and
stumbled as he came down with his golden farewell shattered by the
first injury he has experienced at a major competition.
That wasn’t the only surprise. Britain went on to beat the United States in a tight finish.
The
60,000-capacity stadium was primed for one last Bolt show, one last “To
the World” pose after a victory, but the injury made it blatantly clear
why Bolt is ready to retire. His body can no longer hold up.
His
teammates on the once-fabled Jamaican sprint squad were far from
unmatchable, too. Bolt had just too much to make up in the final 100
meters as both Britain and the United States were ahead and even Japan
was even.
As Bolt fell to the ground, the leg with
the golden shoe giving way, the crowd still went wild because the home
team went on to win gold in 37.47 seconds, .05 seconds ahead of the
United States.
It was yet another amazing upset in a championship of so many.
Before
Bolt came onto the track, he was consoling Mo Farah, his long-distance
equivalent who had just lost his first major race since 2011 when he
failed to get gold in the 5,000 meters.
Farah also
was bidding farewell to the track, coming up short of his fifth straight
5,000-10,000 double at major championships in a sprint against Muktar
Edris Ethiopia.
“I gave it all,” Farah said. “I didn’t have a single bit left at the end.”
As Bolt fell to the ground, the leg with the golden shoe giving way, the
crowd still went wild because the home team went on to win gold in
37.47 seconds, 0.05 seconds ahead of the US.
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| Bolt - 100 and 200m world record holder - finishes his career with 14 world career medals |
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| Jamaica’s Usain Bolt (2R) reacts after injuring himself as team-mates try to help him during the final of the men’s 4x100m relay athletics event at the 2017 IAAF World Championships at the London Stadium in London on Aug. 12, 2017. |
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