Usain Bolt Announces 2016 Olympics Will Be His Last

Usain Bolt announced in an interview with Agence France-Presse released Monday that he plans to retire from Olympic competition following the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.    

Bolt is a six-time Olympic gold medalist, having won the 100- and 200-meter dashes in addition to the 4x100-meter relay in each of the last two Olympics (2008 and 2012).

Bolt's decision isn't a major surprise. He'll be 33 by the time the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo roll around. Longevity and sprinting don't often go hand in hand. The very nature of the sport favors younger athletes who are in their athletic prime.

Bolt remains the king of the 100 and 200. His performance, however, has dipped somewhat since the last Summer Games, per the IAAF:

Year	100 Meters (sec.)	200 Meters (sec.)
2007	10.03	19.75
2008	9.69	19.30
2009	9.58	19.19
2010	9.82	19.56
2011	9.76	19.40
2012	9.63	19.32
2013	9.77	19.66
2014	9.98	---
2015	9.79	19.55

By walking away in 2016, Bolt is allowing himself to exit at the pinnacle of his sport, a luxury not afforded to many of his former peers. In an interview on Jamaican television in January, via Olympic Talk's Nick Zaccardi, he mentioned how he broached the subject with another gold-medal sprinter, Michael Johnson.

"That's one question I asked [Johnson], why did you retire when you were dominating?" Bolt said. "He said, 'Listen, I've done everything in this sport. I was on top. Why should I continue?' So you accomplish everything you want to accomplish. At some point, you just say, listen, let me leave the sport."

Most will expect Bolt to add at least two more gold medals to his already impressive haul. He is the reigning champion in the 100, having beaten Justin Gatlin by 0.01 seconds at the 2015 IAAF World Championships. He also edged out Gatlin by 0.19 seconds in the 200.

Winning eight Olympic golds would tie him with American Ray Ewry for the second most all-time among track and field athletes, while the United States' Carl Lewis and Finland's Paavo Nurmi hold the current record with nine golds.