MOSCOW (AP) — Usain Bolt stumbled on the track, even almost fell down.

Don’t worry, everybody, it wasn’t in the race.

No, this near-tumble happened in the middle of his celebratory dance, when a barefooted Bolt hammed it up after winning a third gold medal on the last day of the world championships.

He even tossed his spikes into the crowd.

And why not? He certainly didn’t need them anymore. His work was finished.

In the very last race of the championships on Sunday last, Bolt grabbed the gold-coloured baton for his anchor leg of the 4×100-meter relay and churned toward the finish line, huffing and puffing to generate more speed.

Not that he needed it.

Justin Gatlin couldn’t catch him. The rest of the field couldn’t catch him, either. Very few can catch him — he’s simply in a class by himself.

“For me, my aim is to continue hard (toward) the greatness thing,” said Bolt, whose team finished in a world-leading time of 37.36 seconds. “Continue dominating.”

Oh, he did that all right, winning gold in the 100, gold in the 200 and even more gold in the relay. With that, Bolt became the most decorated athlete in world championship history with eight golds and two silvers, moving past Carl Lewis (8 golds, 1 silver, 1 bronze) and Michael Johnson (8 golds).

“It’s not just about the talent, it’s about rising to the occasion. He understands what that means,” said Gatlin, who anchored the United States to a silver medal despite momentarily stepping outside his lane. “That takes you up another level. To be able to rise to the occasion when an entire stadium full of people are either rooting for you or want to see you fail and you’re able to hold it together, that takes talent.”

The Americans were in a position to possibly give Bolt something he hasn’t had at these championships — a run for his title.

That’s when Gatlin stumbled, stepping momentarily into Bolt’s lane after the Jamaican surged ahead.

Gone was any chance of an electric finish.

“I was able to collect myself, but it wasn’t enough,” said Gatlin, who beat Bolt in the 100 in London two months ago.

As his team made their way around the track in a celebration lap, Gatlin half-expected a tap on the shoulder telling him the team was DQed. They weren’t.

Instead, the day belonged to Bolt. It was his stage and he relished every step of it, dancing his way around the track to the point where he almost fell over.

“I just went along with the music,” Bolt said.

PHOTOS: BOLT MUSIC

BOLT…Showing off his dancing qualities to the large crowd at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow

PHOTO: LUCKY RUSSIAN

This lucky Russian demonstrates his joy at having caught one of the spikes of Usian Bolt after the athlete threw them into to the crowd.