'I am the greatest'

André Lowe, Senior Staff Reporter

Bolt blasts American legend Carl Lewis

LONDON, England:

A royal wave to the crowd at the start and his usual pre-race antics to follow, Usain Bolt the showman was in full force inside the London Olympic Stadium last night.

However, long after his royal performance, a 19.32 win in the 200m final, which made him the first man to win back-to-back Olympic sprint double, it was a serious and businesslike Usain Bolt who greeted reporters, as he addressed former United States sprinter Carl Lewis and disgraced lab owner Victor Conte, who continually question the performances of the Jamaicans and athletes in general, pointing to a sport tainted by drugs.

Bolt, who led a Jamaican trifecta, which was completed by first-time Olympians - silver medallist Yohan Blake, 19.44, and Warren Weir, 19.84 - blasted the pair for trying to damage the sport just to seek attention.

Medal sweep

The Jamaican 200m medal sweep was the seventh in history, with the country being only the second after the USA to achieve the feat.

"Anyone can say what they want to say. I have set my self above that so he can say what he want to say, Carl Lewis was 'one of', I am the greatest, so whatever," said Bolt.

"It's annoying when people on the sideline say all this stuff, it's annoying. If you want attention go do something and don't sit and talk - especially Lewis," Bolt added, clearly frustrated with the American's constant suggestions. "Nobody remembers who he even is so he is just looking attention and it's annoying that people are trying to taint the sport after it is going forward."

"For someone to get up and say something like that without any proof is really hard for the athletes because we work hard and push ourselves to the limit, and things like this just frustrate us," Bolt added.

"I'm going to say something controversial. Carl Lewis, I have no respect for him," Bolt said. "The things he says about the track athletes are very downgrading. I think he's just looking for attention because nobody really talks about him. I've lost all respect for him. All respect.

"For an athlete to be out of the sport and to be saying that is really upsetting," Bolt added.

Bolt also had some words for his doubters, who he said drove him to prove them wrong, after it was said that he would not be able to repeat his double sprint gold medal performance from the Beijing Olympics, after he was beaten twice by Blake at the Jamaican trials.

"It was a joy for me to tell my doubters to shut up," said Bolt.

"There have been a lot of doubters, who have been saying a lot. I have been through a lot, I have heard a lot, but for me I came here for one thing, and after the 100m I was really confident I could win the 200m, and I'm just happy I was able to come out here and deliver," Bolt added.