Even a lumbering start couldn’t slow down the world’s fastest man. Usain Bolt became the first person to win three straight Olympic 100-meter titles, blowing down the straightaway in 9.81 seconds at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
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Gatlin, the 2004 champion who came into the race with the season’s fastest time of 9.80, took second in 9.89.
Jamaica’s Usain Bolt is still the fastest man alive.
He shoved Michael Phelps aside to take center stage for Week 2 of these troubled Rio Games.
Cautiously optimistic: With the Olympic soccer gold medal only two games away, Brazil is trying hard to manage expectations.
In a tribute to his illustrious Jamaican countryman, Bolt revealed: ‘It’s always One Love.
Bolt is beatable (though his world record time of 9.58, set in 2009, may never be).
Bolt, who has clearly taken a liking to De Grasse since the two met over the winter in Jamaica while doing promotional work with Puma, had kind words about the Canadian.
The American said he had already moved on from the disappointment of being beaten once again at a major championship by Bolt after winning silver in the 100.
GOLDMAN: They did. Bolt is a rock star. And as he starts working his way through the curve, it’s easy to see that his long-legged, 6-foot-5 frame was built for the longer race. He passed Gatlin about 60 meters down the track. As Gatlin came across the line first, Bolt responded with a “wow” in reaction to the American winning the heat easily as he watched from the television screen on the sideline. He turned his yellow hat backward, kneeled down and gave the crowd what it really wanted.
But his legacy – including his famous victory pose – won’t soon be forgotten. Nobody did this time.
Bolt didn’t beat his world record time, but he was still able to win the race with an impressive time.
But it certainly was Bolt at his most entertaining. Van Niekerk finished in 43.03 seconds – 0.15 seconds faster than Johnson ran on August 26, 1999 in Seville, Spain. It was appropriately turned into a meme, arguably the best one of the Olympics.
“A true, true warrior of the sport”, said Yohan Blake, the Jamaican who used to be his main rival.
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The Globo TV reporter then cheekily asked the three-times-in-a-row 100m gold medal victor to sing the song to mark the moment – and Bolt did just that. The Rio fans showed what they thought of him as he was loudly booed as he entered the arena and Gatlin returned the compliment by being the only finalist not to acknowledge them.
