Bolt had cruised through the morning heats and then ran the fastest time in the semi-finals (9.86), despite easing off, looking to his side and grinning broadly as he approached the finish line.
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Elsewhere, South Africa’s Wayde van Niekerk shocked the Olympic Stadium by smashing the world record as he clinched the gold medal in the men’s 400m.
Taylor beat Claye to gold in London four years ago and his first-round jump of 17.86m proved enough to top the podium for a second time. He could add more medals in 200m and 4X100m relay to his kitty before the Olympics get over.
Although well short of his world record 9.58 secs, Bolt said the break between the semifinals and final had been shorter than the runners are used to and he could not rest for long. “Last night when he flew past me with flawless technique and his huge stride, he looked back and smiled; I only had a moment to capture this epic Olympic moment, but I was in the right place, ready”, said Spencer. “He shows up and pushes you to run fast and be at your best at all times”.
Gatlin, who had been booed by the Rio crowd as he was introduced, crossed in 9.89sec with De Grasse just behind in 9.91.
“When I got to 50 metres, I felt great and I could tell that I was going to catch him”, said Bolt, about overtaking Gatlin to the gold.
Finals in the women’s 400 and the men’s 800 will feature on Monday night’s program.
“It is special. When I was 13, I remember I first watched the Olympics, and seeing Usain [Bolt] win gold back-to-back, before I even started track”. So I’m going to run with that one. He also defeated Gatlin in the final in 2012 in London, where Gatlin finished third and earned a bronze. – 26-year-old Perkovic has no intention of slowing down after second Olympic title.
“But they don’t know me, they don’t know Justin. I’m making mistakes I never made earlier in my career”, she said.
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No other athlete – man or woman – has ever won three consecutive individual Olympic sprint titles.
