Usain Bolt wins 9th Olympic gold to complete triple triple

Usain Bolt

Usain Bolt ended his Olympic career by claiming an unprecedented ‘triple triple’ and his ninth gold as Jamaica won the 4x100m relay final in Rio.

Bolt, 29, had won the 100m and 200m in Rio and is the only man to win all three sprint events at three Games.

He combined with Asafa Powell, Yohan Blake and Nickel Ashmeade to finish in 37.27 seconds.

Japan won a surprise silver and the USA were disqualified to hand Canada bronze and lift Britain up to fifth.

“There you go. I’m the greatest,” said Bolt, after bringing an end to one of the most astonishing Olympic careers of all time.

In February, Bolt confirmed he would retire after the 2017 World Championships in London and will not compete at Tokyo 2020, at which point he will be nearly 34.

His haul of nine gold medals is the joint highest among Olympic athletics, equal with USA sprinter and long jumper Carl Lewis and Finnish long-distance runner Paavo Nurmi.