In video: Usain Bolt believes his legacy remains intact
The Jamaican missed out on a successful send off as he dramatically crashed out of the 4×100 metre relay in London.
Usain Bolt insists his struggles at the World Championships will never damage his legacy.
The eight-time Olympic champion ended his career with a lap of honour following the end of the championships in London on Sunday.
It came after he could only take bronze in the 100m last weekend, denying him the chance of a final solo gold before he retired.
“For me I don’t think one championship is going to change what I’ve done,” said the Jamaican, who still admitted he needed a drink after a “rough” week.
“I remember after losing the 100m someone said to me, ‘Usain, no worries, Muhammad Ali lost his last fight also, so don’t be stressed about that’. I’ve proven myself year in, year out, throughout my whole career.”
Bolt holds the world records over 100m and 200m of 9.58 seconds and 19.19secs respectively which look likely to stand for a long time but insisted he will not be back to try to set any new ones.
“I’ve seen too many people retire and come back into the sport just to make it worse or to shame themselves,” he said. “I won’t be one of those people.”
Meanwhile, Great Britain captain Eilidh Doyle believes the hosts can be pleased with their efforts despite criticism for a lack of medals during the championships.
The hosts finished sixth in the medal table after hitting their target of six-to-eight medals thanks to Doyle helping the women’s 4x400m relay team to silver while the men took bronze on Sunday.
Sir Mo Farah was the only individual athlete to claim medals, winning the 10,000m and taking silver in the 5,000m as he prepares to retire from the track this month.
Doyle said: “You’ve got to look at the bigger picture. We’ve made the target but we’ve also had some really excellent results.
“Look at the sprinters. The 4x100m boys are world champions. They beat America, they beat Jamaica. But also you look at the finals and personal bests – how many people finished higher than they were ranked coming in?
“If you look at the team as a whole, we’ve performed really well.”
