Usain Bolt admitted that despite streaking to a unique second successive Olympic sprint double, decathlon champion Ashton Eaton was the best athlete in the world.u00a0Bolt declared himself the &ldquo;greatest athlete to live&rdquo; after successfully defending his 200m title in 19.32sec. He had earlier retained his 100m title. <img alt="" src="http://images.mid-day.com/2012/aug/ashton_2.jpg" style="width: 500px; height: 819px; " /> Ashton Eaton On Thursday Eaton, the world record-holder from the United States, wrapped up the decathlon, the gruelling 10-discipline event spread over two days. And when questioned directly, Bolt backed down from his declaration. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m a great athlete, but to do 10 events, especially the 1500m, I have got to give it to him!&rdquo; Bolt said. Decathlon silver medallist Trey Hardee had earlier, and rather more pointedly, insisted that the accolade of world&rsquo;s best athlete belonged to his US team-mate Eaton. &ldquo;So Ashton doesn&rsquo;t have to sound selfish or self-centred, Ashton is the best athlete that has ever walked the planet, hands down,&rdquo; Hardee said, interrupting a question to Eaton. &ldquo;The title bestowed upon the Olympic champion in decathlon is the world&rsquo;s greatest athlete and Ashton&rsquo;s the world record holder in that event, the same reason Usain Bolt can be the fastest man on the planet because that&rsquo;s the title that&rsquo;s bestowed upon those event winners. Just because you&rsquo;re fast doesn&rsquo;t make you an athlete,&rdquo; said Hardee. A blushing Eaton responded: &ldquo;Thanks, Trey! There&rsquo;s no fight. Usain is clearly awesome in his own right and is an icon of the sport. I think titles are for, I don&rsquo;t know, books and stuff. I just like doing what I&rsquo;m doing.&rdquo; Eaton&rsquo;s decathlon results: Day 1: 100 metres=10.35, long jump=8.03, shot put=14.66, high jump=2.05, 400 metres=46.90 Day 2: 110 metres hurdles=13.56, discus throw=42.53, pole vault=5.20, javelin throw=61.96, 1500 metres=4:33.59 Total points: 8869u00a0

Now I am a legend: Bolt

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Ashton Eaton is the best athlete in the world, says Bolt

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Ashton Eaton is the best athlete in the world, says Bolt

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