I stayed on for the fans, says Bolt

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – AUGUST 25: Jamaican Athlete Usain Bolt poses with a United shirt prior to the Barclays Premier League match between Manchester United and Fulham at Old Trafford on August 25, 2012 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

Zurich, Sep 1 (IANS/CMC) As the curtains come down on a gruelling season, Jamaican sprint legend Usain Bolt says if it were not for the fans he would have ended his campaign earlier.

Bolt clocked 19.66 seconds to win the 200 metres at the Zurich Diamond league Thursday before signing off his campaign on the international circuit this year, CMC reported.

The 25-year-old sprint sensation defied rain and chilly temperatures to break American Wallace Spearmon’s meet record of 19.79 set two years ago.

“The fans, those are the guys I come out here to run for. If things were different, if it were up to me, I would just call it a season,” said Bolt.

“It’s been a long season and it’s been mentally draining and physically hard for me. So for me to actually finish the season on a high is good for me.”

The two times triple Olympic gold medallist says he is happy to be ending the season fit and injury free.

In July, public concerns over Bolt’s fitness surfaced following reports that he was suffering from niggling leg and back problems.

However, he was declared fit and ready to race after visiting renowned sports doctor Hans-Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfahrt in Germany.

“My back is deteriorating a little bit so I don’t want to push my body and then pull a hamstring before the end of the season and then I have to go to the doctor and then I have to start the season off slower than I normally would,” Bolt explained.

“So I want to make sure that at the end of the season I want to make sure I am fit and ready to start the next season.”