Usain Bolt took an emotional final bow on the track at the end of the World Championships in London on Sunday before declaring that, definitely and definitively, there was no way he would ever return to sprinting.
After embarking on a special lap of honour so slow that you could not believe that we were saying farewell to the world's fastest man, Bolt was asked by reporters already missing him whether he might ever change his mind.
"No, I've seen too many people come back and make things worse and shame themselves. I won't be one of those people who come back," Bolt said firmly.
Twenty four hours earlier, the 30-year-old Jamaican's matchless sprint career had ended painfully on the last leg of the 4 x 100 metres relay final as he crumpled to the ground in the London Stadium with a hamstring injury.
Bolt, who admitted that it had been a terrible end of a "stressful" championship for him after also losing his 100 metres crown, said he had felt consoled on Sunday when someone told him "Muhammad Ali lost his last fight too -- so don't be too stressed about it".
Already he was looking forward to an exciting future, he said, with his management camp talking to IAAF President Sebastian Coe, about what he might be able to do for the sport in an ambassadorial capacity.
He also revealed that his coach Glen Mills, the sage of Jamaican athletics, wanted him to become his coaching assistant.
"So we'll see how that goes," Bolt smiled about the man who has put him through a lifetime of pain.
And the great man even had reporters laughing when he gave them a vision of what a 50-year-old Usain Bolt might end up doing.
"I've no idea. Hopefully, with three kids, married, still in track and field, trying to help the sport, watching it grow," he said.
"I don't know if I'd take my kids to the track, though. I won't be one of those parents who force their kids into things they don't want to do."
WONDERFUL NIGHT
It was a wonderful night of celebration for athletics' greatest entertainer with Bolt honoured one last time at the stadium where he achieved the second of his three Olympic sprint doubles.
Coe and the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, presented him with a piece of the 2012 track as a memento before he embarked on his celebration lap, slowly soaking up all the non-stop cheers from the 56,000 full house - all to a Bob Marley soundtrack.
He went over to the 200 metres and 100 metres start lines, knelt down and crossed himself.
"I was saying goodbye to my fans but to my events also," he said, admitting he had been close to tears.
And after taking rather longer than the 9.63 seconds it took him to win the 100 metres crown here in 2012, he eventually stopped at the finish line and gave everyone his trademark lightning bolt impression.
Before he had set off on the lap, he had told the crowd he just wanted to entertain and put on a show.
He did just that before also getting a rare round of applause in the press room from "some of you guys who wrote bad things about me".
Asked what he hoped his legacy would be, he paused for a moment before saying: "I've proved with hard work anything is possible. I personally think this is a good message to the kids. 'Push on, be strong, be as good as you can be' - that's a good legacy to leave'."
He was also adamant that he would "preach" to youngsters about avoiding the evil of performance-enhancing drugs.
"The sport hit rock bottom last year and the year before and now we're on the way back up," he said.
And his immediate aims? In typical Bolt fashion, he just smiled and declared: "The first thing I'm going to do is have some fun. Have a party and have a drink. I need to chill."
Reuters
Mon Aug 14 2017
Usain Bolt poses during a lap of honour during the World Athletics Championships at London Stadium, August 13, 2017. REUTERS
Joseph Kurup pemimpin yang setia berkhidmat untuk Sabah
Joseph, 79, yang memiliki latar belakang sebagai pengamal undang-undang, dilahirkan di Tambunan pada 15 Dis 1944.
Pelepasan misi kemanusiaan Break the Seige of Gaza Freedom Flotilla
Aktivis kemanusiaan dari seluruh dunia bakal berkumpul di Istanbul, Turki pada 18 April ini (Khamis) untuk terlibat dalam persiapan akhir sempena misi Break The Seige of Gaza Freedom Flotilla.
Mereka yang terlibat dalam misi kemanusiaan ini bersatu di bawah gerakan Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC).
Untuk perkembangan lanjut, kita bersama rakan setugas, Nursyazwani Saiful Sham.
Mereka yang terlibat dalam misi kemanusiaan ini bersatu di bawah gerakan Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC).
Untuk perkembangan lanjut, kita bersama rakan setugas, Nursyazwani Saiful Sham.
TPM, Jemaah Menteri rakam ucapan takziah kepada Arthur sekeluarga
Mendiang Joseph Kurup disifatkan seorang teman yang sentiasa bersemangat mendukung obor perjuangan parti tatkala susah dan senang.
Pemimpin Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh lawat Turki hujung minggu ini - Erdogan
Presiden Turki akan menjadi tuan rumah kepada pemimpin kanan Hamas itu.
Iran-Israel: Tindak balas Israel berisiko heret wilayah dalam perang - Jordan
Menteri Luar Jordan, Ayman Safadi berkata, tindakan balas Israel terhadap serangan Iran boleh membawa risiko sebenar mengheret seluruh wilayah itu ke dalam perang yang dahsyat.
AS, EU rancang sekat eksport minyak Iran
Amerika Syarikat (AS) dan Kesatuan Eropah (EU) merancang mengenakan sekatan baharu ke atas Iran yang bakal mengurangkan kapasiti negara itu untuk mengeksport minyak berikutan serangannya terhadap Israel minggu lalu.
Qatar nilai semula peranan sebagai pengantara gencatan senjata Gaza
Qatar sedang menilai semula peranannya sebagai orang tengah dalam rundingan gencatan senjata antara Pejuang Hamas dan Israel.
UNSC akan mengundi Jumaat mengenai keahlian PBB Palestin
Majlis Keselamatan Pertubuhan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu (UNSC)dijadual mengundi atas permintaan Palestin untuk menjadi ahli penuh PBB, pada Jumaat.
Lebih 14,000 kanak-kanak dibunuh di Gaza, Israel telah mengalahkan Hitler - Presiden Turki
Israel melakukan pembunuhan beramai-ramai yang merupakan aib dalam sejarah manusia, baik di Gaza dan Tebing Barat, tegas Erdogan.
14 orang cedera dalam serangan Hizbullah ke atas pusat komando Israel
Hizbullah sifatkan, serangan itu "sebagai tindak balas kepada pembunuhan beberapa pejuang penentangan."