New Delhi: On Friday, at the Nehru Stadium, when the presenter for a function related to the Delhi half marathon tried to introduce Linford Christie and explain what a great sprinter he was, it took him some time to list his achievements.

As the former British athlete sat smiling, it was clear there would be very few in the near future who could even dream of matching the retired 57-year-old star.

The Jamaican-born sprinter is the only British athlete in history to have won gold medals in 100 metres at all four major competitions - Olympics, World Championships, Commonwealth Games and European Championships.

He is the first European to have run under 10 seconds. His fastest time of 9.87 seconds was recorded when he won the 1993 World Championships in Stuttgart. Having pocketed 24 international medals, he is one of the most decorated athletes.

Yet, Christie was ready to admit that sprinter Usain Bolt has surpassed all sprinters of the past, both in terms of achievement and glamour.

Christie said he was simply stunned by the way Bolt dominated the sport for a number of years. "When we used to run, the field was wide open... there were number of people, who could have stole the limelight on a particular night.

"But, Bolt dominated the track completely. I doubt such a thing is going to happen again in near future," said the 1992 Olympic champion.

Christie considers Bolt as the greatest star of recent times, but said the star value has both its advantages and disadvantages for the progress of athletics. "You need a star. It is good for our sport to have a star. Bolt was good for athletics.

"At the same time, Bolt was projected as the only star. The IAAF should have groomed some others also to become stars after Bolt. Since that was not done, it will take some time, may be a couple of years to find new ones," Christie said.