Usain Bolt is still the man to beat in the Olympic men’s athletics but he can no longer claim to have equalled the record of nine gold medals.
The Jamaican icon retired in 2017 and no man has been able to replicate his total dominance of the sport since as he still holds two World Records.
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Across Beijing 2008, London 2012, and Rio 2016, Bolt obtained three sprinting gold medals in three consecutive Games.
That incredible feat saw the 37-year-old equal Paavo Nurmi and Carl Lewis' record of most Olympic gold medals won in athletics with nine.
However, in the year he retired, Bolt was stripped of one of his golds and here, talkSPORT.come takes a look at why…
Why was Bolt stripped of an Olympic Gold medal?
Bolt lost his Olympic Gold medal in the men’s 4x100m relay in Beijing 2008 after one of his teammates was disqualified post-Games.
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He was part of a four-man team including Nesta Carter, Michael Frater and Asafa Powell that broke the World Record to finish in 37.10 seconds.
However, almost a decade after the Games in 2017, Carter was found guilty of doping by the International Olympic Committee.
He used performance-enhancing drugs to prepare for the Olympics and as a result, all of his medals were stripped.
This meant that even his 2008 relay medal was taken away and unfortunately, his teammates’ medals were too because of that.
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Bolt losing the gold meant he also lost his ‘triple-triple’ achievement of winning gold in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m events in three straight Olympics.
It took history away from him, but he is still proud of the legacy he has left in the sport.
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Speaking when the decision on Carter was made, he said: "I am disappointed based on losing a medal.
“But it won't take away from what I have done throughout my career, because I have won my individual events and that’s the key thing.”
He added: "What can you do? I've done all I wanted in the sport, I have really impacted the sport, I've really accomplished a lot, so for me, I can’t complain."
And Bolt still has his complete set of three 100m and 200m medals, while also still holding World Records in both...
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What is Bolt’s 100m record time?
The World Record for the men’s 100m is 9.58 seconds.
Bolt set that time in August 2009 at the World Athletics Championships - not at the Olympics in Beijing the year before.
The common misconception comes from the fact that the 6ft 5in sprinter did set a world record time of 9.69 with his gold medal win.
However, only a year later, Bolt smashed his own record and no sprinter has beaten it to this day.
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In the 200m, Bolt is also the World Record holder.
His time of 19.19 seconds, which was set at the same event in 2009, still stands.
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