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.
Advertisement
Bolt remains on target to leave Rio with a third successive Olympic treble after winning the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay titles in 2008 and 2012.
“Somebody said I can become immortal”.
It was the seventh Olympic gold medal of Bolt’s career as he confirmed his status as the greatest sprinter in history.
Fans were not kind to 34-year-old Gatlin while he warmed up for the race and also when he was introduced before the start of the event.
The time was a long way off his 2009 world record of 9.58 but that was never the issue at stake.
He went on to set another record with 9.58 at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin. At the 2013 IAAF World Championships in Moscow, photographer Oliver Morin captured an unbelievable photo of Bolt sprinting just as lightning flashed above the stadium.
Bolt suffered an injury scare at the Jamaican Olympic trials last month, forcing him to seek treatment in Germany.
Whilst on the track, Bolt and Gatlin are referred to by many as good vs evil, or Jekyll & Hyde, but Gatlin admits that the couple are close friends away from athletics. Gatlin has twice served bans from track and field for doping.
The Rio fans certainly 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 crowd. University of Tennessee product Justin Gatlin has had better times than Bolt in the past couple years and has openly pursued this showdown and his own history – becoming the oldest 100 victor at age 34, 12 years after claiming gold in the event in Athens.
“It surprised me”, Bolt said of the booing.
The sport’s greatest showman then produced an even better run when it really mattered to send the Olympic Stadium into raptures.
Advertisement
“My coach always wants me to run 400m”, said Bolt, who has often complained at how hard the training for the 400m was. “It’s challenging but it’s what we train for”.
