Usain Bolt
Usain Bolt

Usain Bolt 10/11 to bow out with World Championship double success


Athletics chiefs would be "mad" not to call on Usain Bolt to help promote the sport after his retirement, according to Darren Campbell.

The Jamaican will bring the curtain down on his glittering career at the World Championships in London next month as he eyes another two gold medals.

The 30-year-old is the odds-on favourite at the London Stadium for the 100 metres and then the sprint relay but his impending retirement will leave a gaping hole at the heart of the sport.

But Campbell, who won Olympic gold for Great Britain in the 4x100m relay in Athens in 2004, believes world governing body the IAAF has to ensure Bolt remains heavily involved as a "global ambassador".

Campbell said: "He's one of the few athletes that have done it at junior level and then taken it to a different level at senior, so he understands the sport inside and out.

"Not many people go through the whole journey - from grassroots all the way to Olympic champion. But he's done that and more.

Sky Bet Special: Usain Bolt to win both the 100m and 4x100m relay

"There's a lot to learn from him. He knows the way to entertain the crowd. How do we take the sport further? I think if you don't have Usain Bolt involved in those types of discussions you're mad, you're not trying to make things right.

"I think Usain Bolt will make decisions for the right reasons - it won't be about money, it will be about the sport that he loves and has empowered him and given him everything he has."

Whatever impact the Jamaican can make off the track, though, there is no denying the huge hole he will leave on it.

It is not just the eight Olympic gold medals, 11 world titles, world records in the 100m, 200m and relay. It is as much his character, the showmanship and sense of fun, that so excites and enthrals fans.

"Any stadium that Usain Bolt decides to grace ends up being full," said Campbell. "That tells you all you need to know.

"What we are witnessing is so powerful, so inspirational, he can't be replaced. How do you replace him - as a sports star and a human being? Usain Bolt treats you the same whether you are a dignitary or the poorest man in the world. That's a unique skill."

Campbell believes South Africa's Olympic 400m champion Wayde van Niekerk, who broke Michael Johnson's world record with a time of 43.03 seconds in Rio last summer, is the man best placed to inherit Bolt's mantle - at least in terms of performance.

"I think the superstar of the sport will be Van Niekerk," he said.

"He gave us a little taste of what he's capable of in Rio. He's an athlete who can run under 10 seconds for 100m, under 20 seconds for 200m, you know what he does at 400m, he now holds the 300m world record - I don't think anybody has ever done that.

"Van Niekerk has shot to stardom very quickly, so maybe slowly we'll start to see more of his character and his personality.

"But Usain Bolt, whether he was a successful sports person or not, I think he would still have that flamboyant character. How do you teach that? I don't think you can."

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