The Rio Olympics will be the swan song of four Olympic legends

THE megastars who’ve held track and field together in recent times while the sport has crumbled around them are preparing for a final goodbye in Rio

Jamaica's Usain Bolt can confirm his status as an Olympic icon in Rio.

USAIN Bolt is done. Mo Farah is 33, Jessica Ennis-Hill is 30 while Allyson Felix turns 31 in November.

The megastars who’ve held track and field together in recent times while the sport has crumbled around them are preparing for a final goodbye in Rio.

We’ll know more about their replacements in the next week but when it comes to filling shoes, they don’t come much better.

This ‘Awesome Foursome’ have 50 medals between them from Olympic Games and world championships.

And they’re all favoured to add gold to that collection in their swan songs.

For Bolt it’s all about taking down two-time American drug cheat Justin Gatlin and confirming his status as an Olympic icon.

Britain's Mo Farah has been dominant on the track since headlining Team GB in London.

Farah and Ennis-Hill shared top billing at their hometown Olympic in London four years ago.

They both backed up that success with Farah winning the 5000m and 10,000m at the next two world championships.

Ennis-Hill took time off to have a baby and then returned brilliantly to win the heptathlon in Beijing last year.

Felix is the darling of the American team, their princess who comes a close second to Bolt as the most loved athlete on the planet.

Unfortunately her year hasn’t gone according to plan.

Britain's heptathlete Jessica Ennis-Hill.

The IAAF changed the track and field program to accommodate Felix having a crack at the 200m/400m double.

In London she won the 200m and then last year moved up to win the 400m world title.

But an untimely ankle injury midway through the year was a speed hump Felix didn’t need.

Then at the cutthroat US trials she finished fourth in the 200m, missing a spot in the event for Rio by just .01 sec.

She went on to qualify in the 400m but admitted yesterday that the hurt of not chasing the double still lingers.

Allyson Felix is the sweetheart of the US team.

“I’m disappointed, it’s definitely heartbreaking for me not to be there in my favourite race,” Felix said.

“I wished things had of gone differently for me but I had to deal with it, I had to regroup and keep moving on.

“Of course I’ll watch it, it will be difficult especially because of how I feel now I would love to defend my title.

“I would love to see what I could run in the 200m but that’s not the case. It’s going to be a great race as there is a lot of talent there but it’s going to be tough to watch.”

What’s going to be even tougher to take is thinking too much about the future without the ‘Awesome Foursome’.

Originally published as The Rio Olympics will be the swan song of four Olympic legends