Bolt wins 100m gold in 9.81 seconds * First man to claim three successive track golds * Jamaican eyes 200m then to complete “triple triple” (Adds quotes) By Mitch Phillips RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 14 (Reuters) – For 9.81 glorious seconds on Sunday all the ills that have dogged athletics were forgotten as Usain Bolt stormed to victory in the 100 metres final to become the first man to win three successive Olympic titles on the track. “It was important to get it done – three times is magnificent”.
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He knew exactly how this night was going to go.
His winning time was his slowest of all his championship victories, and he was still.08-second faster than Gatlin, who clocked 9.89 seconds.
In the beginning of the race, his long time rival American Sprinter Justin Gatlin looked ahead till 50m, but Bolt’s secret weapon, which is his all-out burst in the last stretch spearheaded him to the finish line as Gatlin settled for a Silver with a time of 9.89 seconds, and Canada’s Andre De Grasse finishing third with 9.91 seconds to his name. His previous Olympic final times were 9.69 in Beijing, then a world record, followed by an Olympic record 9.63 in London. His country woman Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce had failed in her bid to add to her 2008 and 2012 Olympic triumphs in the 24 hours earlier.
“When people come out here they get enthralled in the excitement, I understand that and there’s a lot of Usain Bolt fans and a lot of Jamaican fans”, said the 34-year-old Gatlin, who won Olympic gold 12 years ago. She appeared just as excited as her son.
Bolt, at 29 years old, is one of the most recognisable and popular athletes in the world, and he didn’t disappoint his fans. Bolt has already announced that this will be his last Olympics. He orchestrated the celebrations every stop he made.
“I think if I can get a good night’s rest after the semi-finals it’s possibly a thing I could do”. Gatlin had raced 90 metres before easing down in the last 10 metres for 9.94 seconds.
Bolt admitted afterwards he was “surprised” by the crowd’s reaction.
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 the them.
The win took the sprinter a step closer to his goal of winning a historic “triple-triple” combination of gold in the 100m, 200m and the 4x100m relay in three consecutive Olympics.
“I came here focused and ready to go and it was brilliant”.
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“It’s the most special because it’s the third”, Bolt said post-race. The Jamaican has also made his mark with the relay team with time of 36.84 seconds in the 4X100m relay.
