Usain Bolt believes the passionate nature of Brazilians will provide the perfect backdrop for his Olympic farewell at the Rio 2016 Games.

The Jamaican sprint superstar will celebrate his 30th birthday at the 2016 Olympic Games closing ceremony and will retire from athletics later that year or in 2017.

But Bolt is aiming to go out with bang in Rio de Janeiro and create yet more history by retaining the three Olympic titles he won at both the 2012 and 2008 Olympic Games.

In an exclusive interview with rio2016.com, Bolt said: “My goal for Rio is to defend my Olympic titles from Beijing and London in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m. I plan to retire either after the 2016 or 2017 track and field season. I haven’t looked at the Rio 2016 programme, but it is good to know (that his birthday coincides with the closing ceremony) and hopefully there will be many reasons to celebrate."

Asked what ingredients would make the 2016 Games special, Bolt spoke of the special atmosphere he had already experienced in Rio, having been received with great warmth when he took part in a special 150m challenge at Copacabana beach last March.

“I think the Brazilian people have a lot of passion and will create a special energy in the stadium and in the city,” he said. “I’ve been to Rio twice. I was fortunate to travel by helicopter and see the wonderful landscape and beaches from the sky. It’s a wonderful place. I expect Rio will be a great party and I’m looking forward to celebrating there.”

Bolt, who has also won 10 world championship medals (eight gold, two silver) and holds the world records in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay, is widely considered the best sprinter of all time. In 2013, he was named International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) male athlete of the year for the fifth time, and was also selected by the International Sports Press Association (AIPS) as best male athlete for the second consecutive year, the fourth time in total. 

After the many years of intense effort required to stay at the top, Bolt is looking forward to taking a breather after hanging up his spikes, although the passionate Manchester United fan has also spoken about pursuing a career in football.

“The best (thing about being a professional athlete) is travelling around the world and seeing new places,” Bolt said. “The worst is how hard you need to train and how disciplined you need to be to get to the top.

“After I retire from track and field, I will take some time off from all the hard training and pursue business interests and work for the Usain Bolt Foundation. And I would like to try playing football.”