BEIJING • Usain Bolt has warned that people write him off at their peril after the imperious Jamaican sealed another treble world gold haul despite an injury-hit season.
He anchored Jamaica to victory in the 4x100m relay to add to his wins in the 100m and 200m, trumping his much-touted and controversial American rival Justin Gatlin.
It was Bolt's fifth treble gold showing in major championships.
He came up with the same feat at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics in Beijing and London as well as the World Championships in 2009 and 2013 in Berlin and Moscow.
Bolt's sole hiccup came in the 2011 world meet in Daegu when a false start in the 100m saw him return home with only the 200m title and the relay gold.
"This is even better, just to prove everyone wrong," he said of his treble in Beijing, where his dominance of world sprinting had started when he came to prominence in the 2008 Olympics.
"I came out here and proved everybody that you can never call Usain Bolt out. I'm a champion and I show up when it matters."
The towering 29-year-old had sat out six weeks of competitive action this season with pelvic joint pain.
But he roared back despite a lack of outings on the circuit in the most impressive way.
"This season has been rough," he admitted. "I'm just hoping that next season won't be like this. I'm going to try my utmost best to really get on the right track early in the season and just hopefully can go on to Rio fully ready to run my best."
He added that he did not feel any pressure to win.
"You can't have doubts. The moment you have doubts creeping in, you shouldn't run. I know what I want coming here. My coach (Glen Mills) is always confident in me and I'm confident in him so as long as we work as a team, I have no worry I'll ever be defeated."
Bolt said he would wait until after next year's Rio Olympics before allowing himself the right to be called a legend of the sporting world.
"I think I'm getting there," he added with some understatement.
"I won't say that completely out of my mouth until after Rio. After Rio, then I'll see (if I'm) comfortable enough to say I'm one of them."
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
