In his last season of an incredible career that saw him become the greatest sprinter of all time, Usain Bolt has tipped the record-setting Wayde van Niekerk to be his successor in track and field. 

The Jamaican has stamped his mark on the sport and the world in general through his unique charm as well as his eight Olympic and 11 world gold medals. 

Having won the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay events in three consecutive Olympics from 2008 to 2016, Bolt's retirement later this year will leave a gaping hole in the world of athletics. 

However, that gap seems most likely to be filled by the 24-year-old Van Niekerk, who is the current world record holder for the 300m and 400m events. 

Despite not having quite the charisma and larger-than-life personality of Bolt, the South African is well on his path to greatness on the track. 

Van Niekerk broke Michael Johnson's 300m record at the Golden Spike meet in Ostrava on Wednesday, clocking 30.81sec, while he ousted the same person last year in order to capture the 400m record at 43.03sec in Rio. 

Having mostly competed in 300m and 400m, the young runner has also clocked an impressive 19.84sec and 9.94sec in the 200m and 100m events respectively, proving that he has the potential to dominate in those competitions as well. 

Asked whether Van Niekerk could be his successor, Bolt replied: "Yeah for sure. I think he really wants to be a sprinter because he's set a personal best in the 100m this year."

"He's shown he's ready for the challenge. He's really down to earth, he's really humble, he's a great person.

"He listens and wants to be good and if he continues like this he'll take over track and field."

Bolt was far from convincing during his 100m win in Ostrava finishing at 10.06sec, hinting at a possible back issue as a reason for the sub-par performance. 

"It wasn't that good a race. It was pretty slow, I'm just getting into my rhythm. I've got some work to do, things have been going smooth," the 30-year-old said.

"It's just my back, as always. It's always an issue. As long as I stay injury-free that's the key thing."

"After the race there were mixed feelings because I know it wasn't the perfect race but I got it done."

The Jamaican veteran faces a race against time to be fit for the London world championships in 35 days time but feels confident that he will recover in time. 

Asked if there are any concerns, Bolt said: "No, I'm going to see my doctor soon so I know he will fix every problem.

"All I need to do is train hard and just focus on getting myself in some shape.

"One run really doesn't matter to me. It always comes down to the championships, so it's about me getting into great shape and that's the focus now, getting into running shape and to make sure I feel good after I run."

"I never worry. One thing is that if my coach is not worried, I'm not worried."

"I need to go to the doctor, get everything checked out, make sure everything's smooth and just continue training, pushing hard and then when (the July 21 Diamond League meet at) Monaco comes, I'll see where I'm at and what I need to to do."