The Jamaican was forced to settle for third in his final solo race at the London Stadium on Saturday after being beaten by the USA's Christian Coleman, who claimed silver, and Justin Gatlin, who won the gold.

Bolt claimed all the headlines as the star of a generation took his final bow in an emotional night in the English capital. And his sporting contemporaries paid homage to his career.

Justin Gatlin was again cast as the pantomime villain by the crowd at the London Stadium on Sunday as he collected his 100m gold medal after beating Usain Bolt to re-gain his world title.

Justin Gatlin is increasingly confident that Usain Bolt will do a U-turn on his retirement and return to the track for Tokyo 2020. Bolt walked away from athletics after the World Championships.

Over the last two weeks the Olympics have provided moments of brilliance, joy and excitement across 28 sports in Rio. Sportsmail brings you the best 50 images from the games...

Real Madrid and Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo has had his sensational 2016 recognised once again after being nominated for Laureus World Sportsman of the Year.

ADAM GEMILI - ROAD TO RIO: I see Usain Bolt on the circuit and he’s always good fun. He likes to make jokes of me! Bolt gave me some great advice to really enjoy athletics and have fun with it.

PATRICK COLLINS: Bolt, Ali, Woods, Pele, Bradman and a precious few others — Jack Nicklaus, certainly, and, in time, Lionel Messi — constitute an elite on whom the term ‘genius’ sits lightly.

Nitro Athletics will be made up of 12 events based on power, endurance, technique and teamwork including the 100m, pole vault, three-minute run, javelin and a mixed 4x100metre relay.

In his only event of the night at the Nitro Athletics Series in Melbourne, Bolt took the baton from Asafa Powell and showed everyone what he can do by powering away down the back straight.

Trevor Stacey, 98, reminisced with his Royal Marine counterparts yesterday and discussed losing friends 75 years ago amid the chaos of the Normandy landings.

Legendary sprinter and massive Manchester United fan Usain Bolt called up Raheem Sterling to thank him for stopping Liverpool from winning the Premier League. 

Louisa Johnson was proudly displaying her toned abs in chic white co-ords on Wednesday, as she enjoyed dinner at Usain Bolt's restaurant in Spitalfields.

The wild panda was spotted 'sprinting' on an uphill path in front of a car in China's Sichuan Province. The average moving speed of a wild panda is 26.9 metres (88.3 feet) per hour.

The retired Jamaican sprinter, 32, cut a dapper figure in a bright white ensemble as he enjoyed a sun-soaked break in Formentera, Spain with girlfriend Kasi J. Bennet on Thursday.

Sheffield United defender Phil Jagielka, 36, has split from wife Emily and is now said to be spending time with 25-year-old Australian Instagram beauty Holly Young, who once dated Olympic star Usain Bolt.

Usain Bolt, 34, wore lederhosen with a checked green and white shirt as he enjoyed a night at Oktoberfest in Munich on Friday night. While there he jumped on stage and posed for selfies.

The Jamaican athlete, 33, and five friends clashed with another group while partying alongside Love Island stars at Soho's Toy Room in London on Friday night.

The Olympic sprint champion, 33, main, has said he would consider taking up the sport. In February he tied the quickest ever NFL 40-yard dash running in 4.22 seconds, inset.

Former Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt is rumoured to be returning to the Melbourne Cup on Tuesday and will be sponsored by champagne brand Mumm.

He confirmed his relationship with Kasi Bennett, 29, back in 2016. 

Usain Bolt made quite an entrance at Oaks Day at Flemington Racecourse via private helicopter in Melbourne on Thursday.  

Usain Bolt visited Melbourne to attend Oaks Day last week. 

Athlete Usain Bolt has confirmed his girlfriend Kasi Bennett is expecting his first child with girlfriend Kasi Bennett.

Usain Bolt: The Slot Game was launched at the gambling industry's annual showcase in London last week. Gambling campaigners say the deal will do 'great harm to those who look up to Bolt'.

Srinivasa Gowda, 28, from Karntaka, India, was taking part in Kambala - where people sprint 145 metres through rice fields while holding two buffaloes - when he appeared to beat Bolt's time.

Usain Bolt shared a sweet Valentine's Day message to his girlfriend Kasi Bennett over the weekend on Instagram.

MARTIN SAMUEL: Tyson Fury is an outlier, a mould breaker, just as Usain Bolt was. And not only in terms of his antics, his charisma. And like Bolt, once he enters the vicinity it is hard to take your eyes off him.

Lionel Messi, Serena Williams, Usain Bolt and Michael Jordan all inspire greatness and the four sporting icons have come together to do so in a new advert.

Monaco boss Roberto Moreno has come to the defence of midfielder Cesc Fabregas by insisting the Spaniard is 'not Usain Bolt' following criticism from his own supporters. 

Usain Bolt, 33, and his long-term girlfriend, Kasi Bennett, 30, put on a luxury gender reveal bash at Peter's Rock in Kingston, Jamaica, on Monday night.

The pop icon, 38, took to Instagram to share a screenshot of a timer that recorded her run as taking 5.97 seconds, a full four seconds faster than Usain Bolt's 9.58 second record.

The 38-year-old star took to Instagram to share a video posing in yellow outfits along with a caption with her clarifying she was joking when she claimed to demolish men's track record.

Holly Young, 25, made headlines in 2017 with her romance with the legendary sprinter - before revealing last year she had found a new beau in a secret Manchester United player.