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The Jamaican bowed out injured as he could not finish the last leg of the 4x100m men's event which was eventually won by Team Great Britain
There was no perfect ending for Usain Bolt in what was his last major race after a blistering career that saw him dominate the tracks for so many years.
The Jamaican bowed out injured as he could not finish the last leg of the 4x100m men's event which was eventually won by Team Great Britain.
Primed to anchor the final leg of the relay event, Bolt suffered cramp soon after he received the baton.
While Bolt was understandably devastated with how things panned out, his colleagues were more livid as they put some blame on the organisers for delaying the 4x100m men's final event longer than necessary.
Yohan Blake, who won Olympic 4x100m relay gold with Bolt and Jamaica in 2012 and 2016, believes the lengthy build-up contributed a great deal to Bolt’s injury in London on Saturday night.
“I think they were holding us too long in the call room. The walk was too long. Usain was really cold. In fact Usain said to me, ‘Yohan, I think this is crazy’,” said the 100m world champion from 2011.
“It was 40 minutes and two medal presentations before our run. We keep warming up and waiting, then warming up and waiting. I think it got the better of us.
“We were over warm. And to see a true legend, a true champion go out there and struggling like that…
“The race was 10 minutes late, we were kept 40 minutes and it was a 300 metre walk. It was crazy.”
Team-mate Omar McLeod echoed Blake and criticised the organisation with his heart going out to Bolt.
He said: “It’s heart-wrenching. I gave it my all and I really wanted Usain to leave golden, or even if it was just a medal, it was really heart-wrenching.
“I couldn’t believe it, I’m in shock, utter disbelief.
“It was ridiculous, man. We were there around 45 minutes waiting outside, I think they had three medal ceremonies before we went out so we were really trying our hardest to stay warm and keep upbeat.
“But it was ridiculous. We waited a really long time. I drank like two bottles of water.”
Dr Kevin Jones, Jamaica’s team doctor, confirmed Bolt’s injury.
He said: “It’s cramp in his left hamstring but a lot of pain is from disappointment from losing the race. The last three weeks have been hard for him, you know. We hope for the best for him.”
