Usain Bolt could reconsider his decision to quit the sport, according to his American sprint rival Justin Gatlin. Gatlin finished second behind Bolt in last year’s Olympic 100m final and also at the past two world championships with the Jamaican dominant.

Bolt is due to bow out on the global stage in next month’s world championships in London after the 100m and 4x100m relay but Gatlin can see him finding the lure of competition difficult to resist.

Asked whether he may change his mind, Gatlin, who is training with the United States squad in Birmingham, said: “Why not? He has that rock star mentality where he can travel the world, have fun, party in different places and then say: ‘I want to take this seriously one more time.’ He has the opportunity to come back. Once he leaves he can have a year of rest and say: ‘I love track so much I can’t leave it too soon.’

“For me it’s a rare moment which you’re not able to appreciate like I do. He’s a true competitor. In my whole career I’ve never raced anyone who’s such a true competitor and who’s going toe-to-toe with me.”

Gatlin, twice banned for drug use, was beaten by Bolt in Beijing two years ago by only one hundredth of a second – losing his 28-run unbeaten record at the time.

But with Bolt stepping down, Gatlin, who also finished second behind the Jamaican in the 200m in Beijing, is excited at what it means.

He said: “It makes you a little more jittery. Who’s going to step up to fill that void, who’s going to rise to the occasion and wants to be the next superstar?”

Sir Mo Farah has decided he will end his track career at the Diamond League final in Zurich next month, organisers of the Swiss event have announced.

The 34-year-old had planned to quit the track after August’s Diamond League meeting in Birmingham, which follow the World Championships in London but he will instead race in Zurich on 24 August, four days after the Birmingham meeting, before quitting to focus on the marathon. Farah is due to race in the 5000m and 10,000m at the World Championships.