This could be as good as it gets, says Bolt

Sprint king pleased after Jamaica’s 4x100m win

LONDON: Usain Bolt pledged to keep pushing the barriers after the Jamaican team’s astonishing relay triumph but admitted he may have reached his peak at the London Olympics.

The sprint superstar anchored the 4x100m relay team to a world record of 36.84 seconds and matched his triple gold showing in Beijing in 2008, in a typically showmanlike finale to his Olympic campaign.

“For me it’s just great that we closed the show on a bang,” said Bolt, who took the baton from Yohan Blake, the man he beat to retain both his 100m and 200m titles. “I knew we could do it because the guys were very focused.”

But as thoughts turn to the next Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, the 25-year-old admitted he may not be able to repeat his feats of Beijing and London.

“I think the possibility is there but it’s going to be very hard. Blake is going to be 26 then and he’s going to be in great shape so it will be difficult.”

Bolt added that the record-breaking Jamaicans were not finished yet as they continue to strive for new standards. “For me as a person I like to push the barriers, to do things that no one has ever done before because it sets you off from different people.”

Double gold Mo eyes marathon challenge

Meanwhile, Mo Farah, who came to the Olympics as one of Great Britain’s top medal hopes, leaves as the finest distance runner in the world with a step-up to the marathon a possible future target.

The Londoner, who won gold in the 10,000m a week earlier, sealed a sensational double with victory in the 5,000m.

Now the 29-year-old is eyeing stepping up to the marathon — but said there was no rush.

“I still want to keep taking part in the 5,000 and 10,000 so there’s still a lot to be achieved,” he said. “In my career I’d like to step up to the marathon but not yet — keep doing what I’m doing because it’s working and see if I can get more medals.”

Published in The Express Tribune, August 13^th, 2012.