World Championships - 100m final live! Usain Bolt bids to end solo career with final gold in London

Follow all the live action from the men's 100m finals at the London Stadium

Saturday 05 August 2017 14:02 BST

Usain Bolt’s glittering career draws to a close at the World Athletics Championships, as the legendary Jamaican hangs up his running spikes after almost a decade of unparalleled success.

The 30-year-old first announced his decision to retire from athletics in February 2015, and initially planned to end his career at the Rio Olympics, where he won three gold medals.

But in the end, Bolt decided that he wanted his last race to be in London.

Usain Bolt takes a virtual victory lap through London ahead of his final race

“My sponsor has asked me to go on for another year; to 2017 and London,” he said last year.

“But I'll be doing one event, the 100m. I've already discussed it with my coach. I can concentrate on that, and on retiring on a winning note.”

When will Bolt be running?

The men’s 100m semi-finals begin at 7.05pm on Saturday August 5.

The final takes place later that evening, due to begin at 9.45pm.

But wait! That won’t actually be his final race. He will also take place in the 4x100m relay, next Saturday.

Follow live coverage of tonight's 100m final below:

More information:

Where can I watch it?

On BBC One. Covering of the evening session begins at 6.30pm and lasts until 10pm.

And just a heads up: BBC One will also be screening a documentary all about the big man, called I Am Bolt, which starts at 2pm on Saturday afternoon.

Bolt will retire after London 2017 (AFP/Getty) (AFP/Getty Images)

What are the odds?

Bolt is the overwhelming favourite to win the 100m final. Surprise, surprise.

The current odds are:

Bolt to win: 1/3
Christian Coleman to win: 4/1
Noah Lyles to win: 8/1

And what happened in the heats?

Our man Samuel Lovett was there and had this to say:

Usain Bolt ended his race with a shake of the head (Getty)

Michael Johnson had said ahead of the 2017 World Athletics Championships that Usain Bolt was “more vulnerable” than ever as he bids to retain his title as ‘the fastest man on earth’.

On the big occasion here at the London Stadium, the American’s words proved worryingly prescient.

Clocking in at 10.07secs in Friday's heats, Bolt booked his place in Saturday’s semi-finals but made hard work of it in the process.

Animated and playful as ever before the race, the Jamaican ended his 100m sprint with a disappointed shake of the head that said it all.

It was a far from flawless performance that saw Bolt pushed all the way by the likes of Britain's James Dasaolu and Jimmy Vicaut of France, both of whom also qualified for the semis.

Indeed, the 30-year-old struggled out of the blocks and found himself positioned sixth as the mid-way mark approached.

It took until the closing stages of the race before Bolt pulled ahead of the pack to keep his hopes of a 12th World Championships gold on course.

Speaking after the race the Jamiacan appeared to blame the blocks for his performance.

"I stumbled a bit coming out of blocks, I'm not fond of these blocks," he told the BBC. "I have to get this together. It's shaky because when I did the warm up it [the blocks] pushed back.

"It's not what I am used to."

The Jamaican may have been presented as “forever fastest” in his media conference earlier this week, but if Friday’s race is anything to go by his dominance looks to be drawing to a close.

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And they're off!

Samuel Lovett5 August 2017 19:06

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It's Akani Simbine who finishes first with a time of 10.05 seconds! He's into tonight's final!

Samuel Lovett5 August 2017 19:07

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Justin Gatlin finished second in 10.09 seconds to qualify. It was upset for Dasaolu, though, who took fifth with a time of 10.22 seconds.

Samuel Lovett5 August 2017 19:11

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The second semi-final is about to get under way with the likes of Yohan Blake and Britain's Reece Prescod in action.

Samuel Lovett5 August 2017 19:12