Bolt got the gold, but didn’t break his world record pace of 9.58, and it may have had something to do with the timing of the race itself.
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Yet Bolt had to dig deep to find fifth gear in Rio and eventually stormed passed Gatlin in the final 20 metres to cross the line in 9.80 seconds after incredible acceleration in the middle 40 metres of the race. “I did what I had to”.
The best of the next generation, the Canadian Andre De Grasse, claimed bronze in 9.91.
“Congrats to Wayde on the new world record”.
“Words can’t express, I am extremely excited, elated and happy, Usain Bolt is one of the greatest athletes of all time”, said another Jamaican Bolt supporter.
Bolt enjoyed overwhelming support from the Rio crowd while Gatlin was roundly jeered.
Even with Sunday’s 100m title in the bag, Bolt insisted he would regard his Olympics as a failure if he does not add to his collection of seven gold medals.
Bolt received a hero’s reception as he walked out into Rio’s Olympic Stadium before the race, and the crowd chanted his name after his victory. Ben Youssef Meite also went through with an Ivory Coast national record time of 9.97.
With his doping past, Gatlin has been portrayed as the villain by some in his rivalry with Bolt.
In stark contrast to Bolt’s reception, he walked out to the start line to a chorus of boos. “I am better this season”, he said. It’s that famous, arching “To the World Pose” that he debuted eight years ago in Beijing.
The American has served two drugs bans, though he denies any deliberate wrongdoing for either, and at 34 was bidding to become the oldest 100m champion.
It would be the ideal final Olympics for the legend, who has repeatedly said he will retire after Rio. The announcers quickly began demanding that Bolt be placed among the ranks of the greatest athletes of all time, like Michael Jordan and Michael Phelps.
There are few adjectives or accolades left for someone who repeatedly defies our ideas of how fast a man can run. “It is the first time I have come into a stadium and they booed someone”.
This is what we train for.
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Bolt, who employed his patented late kick down the final 40 meters to blow past early leader silver-medalist Gatlin, told reporters he wasn’t completely satisfied with his race.
