Usain Bolt wins final 100m race in Jamaica as sprinting legend bids farewell to 30,000 fans

By WILL GRIFFEE FOR MAILONLINE

Usain Bolt bid a fitting farewell as the athletics legend claimed victory in his final 100m race in Jamaica in front of 30,000 adoring fans in Kingston.

The global superstar was overwhelmed by the support he received and admitted to being more nervous than ever before.

A time of 10.03 was enough for Bolt to claim victory and there were emotional scenes as he took in the acclaim of the crowd on a lap of honour.

The 30-year-old will officially end his phenomenal career in London’s World Championships in August.

This was the beginning of the end for Bolt though, in the ‘Salute a Legend’ race.

The eight-time Olympic gold-medalist kissed the track after his victory as fireworks lit up the night sky on the Caribbean island.

Inevitably, the signature lightning bolt pose was exhibited as the consummate showman captivated his home audience for the final time.

A far cry from his world record breaking time of 9.58 seconds, Bolt was simply pleased to win.

He said: ‘The run, it was just OK. I must say it was OK. I don’t think I’ve ever been that nervous running a 100m.

‘I think that was possibly one of my worst races. I just wanted to stay injury-free, put on a show for the crowd and show them I’m thankful for the support over the years.’

He added: ‘Just the atmosphere and the people, the support they came out and gave me, it was really nerve-racking.

‘I never expected this, I knew it was going to be big, the stadium was ram-packed so thank you guys for coming out and supporting me.

‘It’s big to see everybody that turned out. It shows that what I’ve done for the sport is a big deal to them and they really appreciate it.

‘So thank you and it was my honour to put the sport of track and field at the top and to continue to dominate.

‘I’ll try my best even when I’ve hung up my spikes, to really continue to push track and field in any way possible,’ he concluded.