• London 2012 - Athletics

Bolt stars as Jamaica storm to relay glory

ESPN staff
August 11, 2012
Usain Bolt has won three gold medals at London 2012 © PA Photos
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Usain Bolt claimed a sixth Olympic sprint gold as Jamaica powered to victory in the men's 4x100m relay at London 2012, smashing the world record in the process.

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After individual glory in the 100m and 200m, when he became the first man to successfully defend both Olympic sprint titles, Bolt joined forces with Yohan Blake, Nesta Carter and Michael Frater in the final event of the track and field programme on Saturday night.

Roared on by a charged 80,000-strong crowd inside the Olympic Stadium, Jamaica trailed the US after the second changeover. However, as Blake collected the baton on the third leg, he stormed ahead of Tyson Gay to put Jamaica in the driving seat entering the back straight.

A poor changeover, which saw Bolt almost come to a standstill before receiving the baton, opened the door for Ryan Bailey to briefly gain the advantage but Bolt, the 100m record holder, cruised ahead as soon as he got into his running and a dip at the line saw the clock stop at 36.85s, a new world record - bettering the previous record of 37.04.

"It is always a beautiful thing to end on this note. It is a wonderful feeling. It was a great Olympics and I am happy. I wish we could have gone faster but I guess we leave room for improvement," Bolt told BBC Sport.

When asked whether he would compete at Rio in four years' time, he added: "It will be hard because Yohan Blake is coming up and running well and I am sure there will be some other young cats coming through."

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