Bolt bids farewell to Jamaican home crowd in Kingston

It was dubbed ‘Salute to a Legend’ and that’s precisely what the 35,000-strong crowd did after Usain Bolt won the 100m at the Racers Grand Prix on Saturday (10).

Minutes before the fireworks lit up the clear night sky, the multiple world and Olympic champion shared centre stage with long-time sprint relay colleagues Michael Frater and Nickel Ashmeade in a sentimental and symbolic 100m race.

Bolt, competing in his season opener and his final race in Jamaica, showed signs of race rustiness early on, allowing training partner Jevaughn Minzie to get a jump start. However, midway he bolted into the fray, in his inimitable way, then zoomed away from the field for a comfortable win in 10.03 (0.2).

Incidentally, Bolt’s first ever international 100m race some 10 years ago produced the same time. It was, of course, almost half a second shy of his 9.58 world record from 2009, but having missed a block of training following the death of his friend Germaine Mason, Bolt wasn’t overly concerned with what the clock said.