Impact defender made the most of his first scoring opportunity on Saturday

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Not so fast, Usain Bolt.Please dont run away from us after this Olympics. Dont even think about putting an end to the greatest show in track.The Olympics need you badly. The sport of track needs you desperately.On a beautiful night in Rio, the most beautiful sight at the Olympic Stadium had to be Bolt chasing down Justin Gatlin and pulling away to an unprecedented third straight Olympic gold in the race that crowns the fastest man on earth.Bolt preened like the superstar he is, then ran yet another race to back it up. Then he preened some more, much to the delight of those who came to watch history.I told you guys I wanted to set myself apart from everybody else, Bolt said. This is the Olympics that I have to do it at, so I came here focused and ready to go and it was brilliant.The golden shoes were a nice touch, but the gold medal was far more impressive. It was No. 7 over three Olympics for Bolt, and the odds are he will have two more before these Olympics come to a close.If that is truly the end, as Bolt has said it will be, he will go into the record books as the greatest sprinter ever. But Bolt has always been more than that, ever since he announced his dominance of the sport with three gold medals in his Olympic debut eight years ago in Beijing.The mere mention of his name Sunday night prompted roars in the stadium. The victory lap he took carrying a stuffed Olympic mascot was an added bonus, a chance for the crowd to stick around and show him some love.Several hundred of them stayed more than an hour after the race, chanting Bolts name and shrieking with excitement each time it appeared he might come out to acknowledge them.Hes the undisputed star of a sport that doesnt produce stars anymore, a runner so popular in his native Jamaica that he is often compared to the iconic reggae master Bob Marley.And as a runner who has never tested positive for anything, he may be the only thing holding together a sport so decimated by doping that the entire country of Russia was banned from track and field at these Olympics.Its hard to believe anything you see on the track anymore. Thats especially true in the 100, where Ben Johnson famously lost his gold medal in 1988 after a positive drug test, and where four of the five fastest men in the record books have also been caught doping.Believe it, though, when you see the magnificence of a runner so smooth and fast that nothing that made him this spectacular could have come out of a bottle.Hes so good he didnt flinch when afterward he was asked about being the greatest ever.Yeah, thats what Im here to prove. Thats what Im here to prove again and again. I just want to be among the greatest, so thats why I am here.Gatlin would have been heading toward a second Olympic gold in the 100 against anyone else, something that would not have pleased the crowd that booed him because of his doping suspension. This was a race viewed by many as good versus evil, though in track nothing is ever as simple as it looks.Bolt overcame his typically slow start to catch Gatlin just after the midway point of the race and pull away in what for him was a relatively slow time of 9.81 seconds. By the time he hit the finish line Bolt was pointing to his chest, where the only thing missing on his uniform was a Superman cape.Bolt would take a long, lingering victory lap around the stadium, finally stopping in one end to unlace his gold spikes and take selfies with fans. They wanted more, and he delivered once again, turning his yellow hat backward before kneeling down and doing his To the World pose.And over the loudspeakers, Marleys Jammin echoed through the stadium.Theatrical, yes, but thats Bolt. This is a guy, after all, who was last seen taking selfies as he danced the samba with a line of women at his press conference earlier in the week.Hes a showman extraordinaire and an athlete unparalleled. The combination is exquisite, with the only downside being the world only gets to see him this way once every four years.The only hope is that his retirement plans are as short as his races.---Tim Dahlberg is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at tdahlberg(at)ap.org or http://twitter.com/timdahlberg Tim Tebow Mets Jersey . 10 Texas Rangers jersey for one last time. Young formally announced his retirement Friday after returning to Rangers Ballpark, his baseball home for all but the last of his 13 major league seasons. Keon Broxton Jersey . After slipping from the summit during the week, the Gunners overcame struggling Crystal Palace 2-0 on Sunday thanks to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlains second-half brace. http://www.metssale.com/mets-pete-alonso-jersey/ . LOUIS -- Attorneys for the St. Gary Carter Mets Jersey . The Americans, skipped by John Shuster, seized the advantage in the eighth end by scoring five points for a 7-3 lead. The Czechs pulled two back in the ninth, but Shusters team of third Jeff Isaacson, second Jared Zezel and lead John Landsteiner ended with another point to secure the last Olympic berth on offer. Wilson Ramos Mets Jersey . -- Playing time has been limited for Maxim Tissot this season, so the Montreal Impact defender made the most of his first scoring opportunity on Saturday. The U.S. womens soccer team was eliminated from the Olympics last week after falling to Sweden in penalty kicks in the quarterfinals. While it was a devastating loss for everyone on the team, perhaps no one felt the defeat more than Christen Press. The forward went last in penalty kicks and was unsuccessful in her attempt.However, her fans were not going to let her get too down in the dumps. Instead, an organic Twitter campaign with the hashtag #DogsForChristen sprouted, and people (and NWSL teams) began sending ADORABLE pictures of their dogs to thee known dog lover.ddddddddddddI could tell you more, or I could just show you cute dog and puppy pictures. Look below, and be prepared to SQUEEEEEEEEE. Even teammate Meghan Klingenberg got involved.Well, this might be the best thing thats ever happened on Twitter. Good job, everyone. Good job.See something entertaining on social media that you think deserves to be shared? Let me know on Twitter, @darcymaine_espn. ' ' '