RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 20 - Usain Bolt bid a blazing farewell to the Rio Games � and his last � on Friday night with yet another scintillating anchor leg for the ages.
Bolt helped Jamaica cross the line in 37.27, turning a close 4x100 relay race against Japan and the United States into a never-a-doubt runaway.
Japan took the silver finishing just .33 seconds behind the Caribbeans. And although the USA finished the race third, they faced yet another relay debacle � disqualified as lead runner Mike Rodgers passed the baton to Justin Gatlin outside the exchange zone. This promoted Canada to the bronze medal.
This is the seventh consecutive time that the Americans either failed to complete the 4x100 or were otherwise stripped of a result.
The result was never in doubt as Jamaica�s sprint dream team of Bolt, Asafa Powell, Yohan Blake and Nickel Ashmeade dominated the event, finishing in 37.27secs, around half a second slower than the world record.
�It�s a relief. I�ve done it all,� Bolt said after his final Olympic race. �I hope that I�ve set the bar high enough that no one can do it again. I ran my last Olympic run, thanks.�