Advertisement

Bolt completes historic triple-triple in emphatic fashion

Usain Bolt's quest for Olympic immortality is complete, claiming an unprecedented triple-triple after anchoring Jamaica to gold in the 4x100m in Rio.

The 29-year-old arrived in Rio searching for a hat-trick of Olympic titles in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay.

RIO 2016 LIVE: All the action from Day 14

Asafa Powell, Yohan Blake and Nickel Ashmeade set Friday night's final up for Bolt and the greatest track and field Olympian of alltime did the rest, storming home in the anchor leg.

Jamaica clocked a winning time of 37.27 seconds ahead of surprise silver medallists Japan (37.60) and the United States (37.62).

What a legend. Image: Getty

And after taking care of business in his two individual events, Bolt took charge of the final leg of Jamaica's relay run at the Olympic Stadium to post an historic victory that sealed his prestigious 'treble treble' of achievements.

Blake, Bolt, Powell and Ashmeade. Image: Getty

The Jamaican superstar is the first athlete ever to achieve three consecutive Olympic golds in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m.

He joins American Frank Wykoff (1928, 1932, 1936) as the only athlete to win three gold medals in the men's 4x100m relay.

Bolt has already announced this will be his final Olympics and has now raced at this level for the final time.

He appeared in a far more buoyant mood than the previous night when he admitted to being genuinely tired after defending the 200m crown he also won in Beijing and London.

"I'm just happy to have done what I came here to do. I'm just proud of myself," Bolt said.

"I have to give thanks to the guys, they really came through for me and I'm really happy about that.

"The pressure is real, but I look at it as an accomplishment.

"I enjoy pressure and I live for these moments.

"For me, it's beautiful."

USA appeared to have won bronze, but were disqualified after replays showed Bromell stepping into Bolt's lane in the race's final metres.