Sally Pearson makes a good start at Bolt’s farewell in Jamaica

Olympic 100m hurdles gold medallist Sally Pearson finished third in Jamaica as she continued her international comeback.

Olympic champion Usain Bolt greets the crowd at the national stadium in Kingston, Jamaica. Picture: AFP

Olympic gold medallist Sally Pearson was content to leave the spotlight to the world’s fastest man Usain Bolt as she continued her international comeback at his farewell meet in Jamaica, the Racers Grand Prix.

Bolt intends to retire after the world championships in London in August, but Pearson is intent on a second coming after injury ruled her out of last year’s Rio Olympics.

In the 100m hurdles in Kingston, she finished a close third (12.83sec) behind American Sharika Nelvis (12.78sec) and ­Jamaican Danielle Williams (12.81sec).

Pearson led the race early but couldn’t quite finish it off. However she welcomed the return of her signature fast start.

“Really good 90% of the way,’’ she said on Twitter.

“Got what I was aiming for out of the race which is a win for me! Thank you #Jamaica & we salute you @usainbolt.’’

Rising distance prospect Pat Tiernan was the other Australian who shone on Bolt’s night, finishing a promising second to Olympic gold medallist Mo Farah in the 3000m (7:41.20).

Tiernan, the US college cross- country champion, sliced 12 seconds off his personal best time to clock 7:41.62 and leap into the top five on the Australian all-time list.

Meanwhile, Bolt said an emotional farewell to his country at the National Stadium, running his final race on Jamaican soil.

Bolt wanted to go out in a blaze of glory as he won the ­“Salute to a Legend” 100m race in front of a raucous crowd of 30,000 on the same track where he launched his international ­career at the world juniors in 2002.

The 30-year-old cruised to victory in a time of 10.03 sec, well below his world record time but good enough to beat a solid field.

“I don’t think I have ever been that nervous to run the 100 metres,” he said afterwards.

“Just the atmosphere and the people. The support they came out and gave me, it was really nerve-racking.”

He ran in front of a sea of green and yellow clad Jamaican fans who danced, waved flags and sounded vuvuzela horns while fireworks lit the sky.

“I never expected this. I knew it was going to be big but the ­stadium was jam-packed with people supporting me — I appreciate that,” he said.

In his first 100m race of 2017, Bolt knew his performance was unlikely to be spectacular.

“My execution was bad and my start was poor,” he said.

He left the on-track fireworks to the man who seems destined to replace him as track and field’s headline act, South African Olympic 400m champion Wayde Van Niekerk, who won the 200m in 19.84 sec.

Additional reporting: AFP