"Lost the race to a great competitor" - When Usain Bolt opened up about his dreadful final race against Justin Gatlin and Christian Coleman

Usain Bolt once admitted to losing to a great competitor, Christian Coleman, in the 100m feat at the 2017 World Championships. Bolt retired following the 2017 Worlds but Coleman continues to make waves in the sprinting world.

Arguably the greatest sprinter of all time, with world records in the 100m and 200m, Bolt amassed a record eight gold medals at the Olympics and 11 at the World Championships. His remarkable achievement in the track and field domain earned him the media nickname 'Lightning Bolt' with a few people having matched his speed in some events. Among his biggest rivals was Justin Gatlin, who clinched the 100m top spot ahead of the Jamaican at the 2013 Golden Gala meet.

Gatlin repeated the feat and shifted Bolt to bronze in the 100m at the 2017 World Championships. However, Christian Coleman emerged as the rising star in that race, finishing with silver ahead of Bolt, and garnering praise from the track and field legend.

In the post-event press conference, Usain Bolt hailed Coleman as the rising sprinting icon and called him a 'great competitor'.

"I lost the race to a great competitor. I came third to a young kid that's coming up.. He has a great talent and great future ahead of me."

Coleman was part of the 4x100m relay team at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where he faced disqualification after two team members botched the baton pass.

Usain Bolt on the real reason behind his 2017 World Championships stint and his mental state

Usain Bolt speaking at the 2024 Laureus World Sport Awards Madrid - (Source: Getty)

In a recent interview with High Performance, Bolt opened up about a tragic loss that left him mentally disturbed in 2017. Ahead of the World Championships, he missed practice and succumbed to depression, not aiming to compete at the global event.

"That year I lost one of my very close friends to a motorcycle accident in April. And it really was with me for a while. And I didn’t train. I was sad, and it was just drinking and just trying to get past that moment because it was just sudden.”

Bolt also shared that his doctor asked him to sit out of the 2017 Worlds since he feared Bolt would get injured. Despite that, the eight-time Olympic gold medalist entered the Championships only for people who would flock to watch him run.

"Everybody bought their ticket. Everybody was there to see me. It doesn't matter you know I mean I'm doing this for them this is the reason I came back," he recalled.

After Usain Bolt's retirement, the National Stadium in Kingston unveiled a statue of him in honor of his storied career.