By John Salvado
It's party time for Usain Bolt, wherever he goes.
So imagine how big the incomparable Jamaican sprinter will be in Rio de Janeiro, home of Carnival and the 2016 Olympics.
Basking in the glory of becoming the first man to successfully defend the Olympic 100m and 200m titles, Bolt is already looking forward to his next challenge.
Reclaiming the world championships 100m crown he ceded to training partner Yohan Blake after false-starting in the 2011 final is top of the agenda next year in Moscow.
But, as he will still only be 29 when the next Olympics roll around in 2016, the prospect of an Olympic triple-double is also on the agenda.
"When I get to 30 I will be thinking about retiring," Bolt says.
"I'm not ready to retire yet. I love this sport, I have got all my success through this sport. I got all my fans through this sport."
Bolt does not have to look too far to see where his immediate challenges are coming from.
Blake, the Olympic 100m and 200m silver medallist, is 22, as is countryman and 200m bronze medallist Warren Weir.
"Rio is going to be a hard mission," Bolt says.
"Both these guys are 22 - I'm going to be 30 (his birthday is the night of the 2016 closing ceremony), they are going to be 26.
"I think I've had my time. In life everything is possible, but for me this is going to be a hard reach."
The immediate task in London for Bolt is claiming a third gold for the second straight Games in the 4x100m relay.
But Jamaica will have to get the job done without former world record holder Asafa Powell, who broke down in the individual 100m final.
"It could be a world record but you can never say because it's a relay and it's a baton so you never know," says Bolt.
"We're just going to go out there and enjoy ourselves and run as fast as possible and it will be a good race to close the show again."
Kenyan David Rudisha, who shared top billing with Bolt by smashing his own 800m world record, has also suggested the pair could meet in the middle over 400m in what would be a match race made in track heaven.
Bolt took a momentary break from celebrating his triumph night to criticise former US sprinting great Carl Lewis, who had been quoted as saying Jamaica's drug-testing procedures were more lax than in some other countries.
"I'm going to say something controversial right now. Carl Lewis, I have no respect for him," Bolt says.
"The things he says about the track athletes is really downgrading for another athlete to say something like that.
"I think he's just looking for attention, really, because nobody really talks much about him."
NZN