T

he Olympic stadium turned into a stage of adulation for Usain Bolt as he completed his triple Olympic feat following his achievements in Beijing in 2008 and in London four years later.

His ensuing retirement from the Olympic Games, announced during a commercial promotion in New York last year, will leave the sporting world with an extraordinary legacy in his name. As in the previous two Games, the Jamaican sprinter remained unchallenged in the 100-meter and 200-meter races, before anchoring the relay team to victory for his third gold on Friday, two days before his 30th birthday.

It was his last showing at the Olympics, and his intention to bid farewell from the world’s biggest multi-sport event was palpable during the 200-meter race the day before, when, after winning his second gold, he made a victory lap around the track, acknowledging the audience from one section to another to the reciprocal roaring cheers from the stand.

The audience offered their admiration, probably mixed with melancholy, to the world’s most-talented sprinting man even before he demonstrated his latest blazing run, well aware that the track legend was two days away from disappearing from the Olympic scene.

The spectators duly broke out in cheers as Bolt emerged from the dugout along with other competitors. Not even for a second, it seemed, did their eyes blink away from him. Every marked movement drew cheers from the audience: when he tested the starting blocks, when he waved up his hands, when he danced around amusingly, when he faced up to the sky, as if seeking divine support.

Then silence fell, before a moment later cheers broke back as the runners pulled their way ahead.

Bolt came off the bend ahead of everyone else. Canadian Andre de Grasse was chasing three meters behind with a third of the distance yet to go. The OMEGA clock was flashing 10 seconds.

And Bolt somehow managed to maintain the gap until the very end, with a time of 19.78 seconds, leaving de Grasse and Frenchman Christophe Lemaitre in second and third place, respectively.

As the other runners either threw themselves to the ground in desperation or bowed their heads in lethargy, Bolt pushed his fist to the air in jubilation. He celebrated his victory around the track, the Jamaican flag draped around his neck.

“Usain Bolt, Usain Bolt, Usain Bolt,” the audience chanted almost simultaneously.

He came back to track the following day to help the men’s team, with the other members being Asafa Powell, Yohan Blake and Nickel Ashmeade, win the sixth gold medal for Jamaica in the Games. Japan won silver and Canada bronze.

Bolt’s haul of nine gold medals from three Olympics is among the highest achieved by Olympic athletes.

He is now on par with US sprinter and long jumper Carl Lewis, who won nine gold medals over four Games, and Finnish long-distance runner PaavoNurmi.

He plans to run at next year’s World Championships in London, but Tokyo, the host of the 2022 Olympic Games, will not see him on the track.