Usain Bolt limps out of farewell race

Usain Bolt's final appearance on the track ended in agony on Saturday as he pulled up injured running the final leg of the World Championships 4x100 metres relay as Britain stunned the United States to win a shock gold medal. Bolt, who had to settle for bronze in the individual 100 metres, had been hoping to sign off from the sport by leading Jamaica to a fifth successive relay gold. (Source: Reuters)

A crowd of 60,000 had packed London's Olympic stadium to mark the farewell sport's greatest showman. “We haven’t done any baton changes as yet with the guys, but I feel we are ready. I have talked to Julian Forte (100m semi-finalist) a little bit. I haven’t really talked to the youngsters so we’ll see when it comes to the baton changes, but I’m always excited to run relays and we see what the guys are prepared and ready to do,” said Bolt ahead of the race.

Jamaica were struggling in third place when he collected the baton. (Source: Reuters)

As he tried to gain ground, Bolt pulled up and fell to the floor with what looked like a hamstring injury. (Source: Reuters)

Bolt's Jamaican teammates surrounded the Sprint great as the race came to an end. He was offered a wheelchair but he limped off the track. (Source: Reuters)

The brilliantly executed race by Chijindu Ujah, Adam Gemili, Danny Talbot and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake gave Britain gold in 37.47 seconds, breaking an 18-year-old national record, and the world title for the first time. It completed a great night for the host nation's sprinters after their women had earlier taken silver behind the Americans in the sprint relay, their best performance since the first championships in 1983. (Source: AP)

It is an anticlimactic end to what has to be the greatest careers ever in Athletics. Usain Bolt has won eight Olympic Golds and is an eleven-time World Champion, thereby becoming the most successful ever in the World Championships. He is the first person to hold both 100m and 200m world records. (Source: AP)