Bolt ends Olympic career with unprecedented 9th gold medal

Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt has ended his Olympic career in style, after claiming an unprecedented 9 gold medals in Rio De Janiero.

"There you go. I'm the greatest," said Bolt, after he and teammates Asafa Powell, Yohan Blake and Nickel Ashmeade won the 4x100m relay final in Rio, finishing in 37.27 seconds.

All of 29 years of age, the remarkable athlete has won the 100m and 200m in Rio and is the only man to win all three sprint events at three Games.

Japan won a surprise silver and Canada claimed bronze, after the USA were disqualified,

The race was a fitting end to one of the most astonishing Olympic careers of all time.

In February, Bolt had confirmed that he will not compete at Tokyo 2020. He plans to retire after the 2017 World Championships in London.

His haul of nine gold medals is the joint highest among Olympic athletics, equal with USA sprinter and long jumper Carl Lewis and Finnish long-distance runner Paavo Nurmi.

"I'm going to stay up late and have fun. I never knew this would happen when I started out," Bolt told reporters. "My team came through for me tonight. As long as we got the baton round, it was never in doubt.

"It's a brilliant feeling. I've pushed myself, it's been a long road. I'm happy but I'm relieved. It's great to be in the history books as one of the greatest. I'm proud of myself."

Would he miss the Olympics, Bolt was asked. "I'm going to miss the crowds. I'm not going to miss the interviews. I've done, like, 500."