LONDON – Usain Bolt will retire from athletics after the 2017 World Championships in London, he confirmed in an interview to a British tabloid published on Saturday.
The Jamaican sprint star – who has won six Olympic gold medals and is the reigning world record holder in the 100 and 200 metres – had previously intimated he would quit the sport after the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
However, Bolt now says he will stay on for one more year but will only compete in the 100m event in London.
“That was the initial plan (to retire in 2016),” he told the Daily Mail. “But my sponsor has asked me to go on for another year to 2017 and London.
“I’ll be doing one event, the 100(m). I’ve already discussed it with my coach. I can concentrate on that and on retiring on a winning note.”
The 28-year-old had a quiet 2014, competing in only three races. But he still took gold in the Commonwealth Games 100m relay in Glasgow, his first Commonwealth medal.
He confirmed that his main focus for 2015 would be the World Championships in Beijing in August where he hoped to add to his collection of eight world titles.
Bolt also said that he would be looking to beat his own 100m world record of 9.58 seconds that he set at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin. (AP)
