When did Usain Bolt retire and how many Olympic medals did he win?

The name Usain Bolt is synonymous with Olympic gold medals, speed, success and world records and for many the Jamaican is regarded as the greatest sprinter of all time.

In 2017, the 34-year-old hung up the spikes after a serious hamstring injury in 2014 and embarked on a short and, many would say, ill advised career in soccer, making a series of appearances for Australian side Gold Coast Mariners in late 2018. After eight weeks with the A-League outfit he departed the club and stated that his sports life “was over”.

Bolt’s Olympic success

Bolt turned professional in 2004 and it was at the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing where ‘Lightning Bolt’ established himself as a household name. The Jamaican sprinter secured two golds in China in both the 100m and 200m finals repeating the same feat four years later at the 2012 London Games.

This time he managed to add a 4 x 100m relay gold as a strong Jamaica team featuring the talented Nesta Carter, Nathan Blake and Micheal Frater held off strong competition from Trinidad and Tobago to scoop the gold. If you need a reminder of his journey and his greatness, sit back and watch this video.

What was Bolt’s last Olympic Games?

Bolt appeared in his final Olympics in Brazil 2016 and repeated the success of London to become the first athlete ever to win three successive 100m and 200m golds. And as was the case in 2012, the Jamaican team cruised to another 4 x 100m win with Japan and Canada having to settle for the silver and bronze medals respectively.

It was at the 2017 World Championships in London where Bolt sustained a serious hamstring injury that was instrumental in forcing his retirement. The athlete was the anchor runner for Jamaica in the final and Bolt pulled up with 50m remaining, later discovering that it was a serious muscular tear.

Age and injury, therefore, were behind the decision to call time on a glittering career with eight Olympic gold medals, 11 World Championship golds, two silvers and one bronze in the Bolt medal collection. A decent run.