With Usain Bolt its not about winning medals.
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Bolt won the race in a time of 19.78s, exactly the same time as his semi-final.
Bolt had earlier won the men’s 100m title to become the first athlete in the history of the Olympics to win the showpiece event three times in a row.
And even though he ran slower in the decider, Bolt’s victory never looked in doubt thanks to a blistering start.
Canada’s Andre de Grasse took silver in 20.02s, while France’s Christophe Lemaitre edged out Great Britain’s Adam Gemili for bronze in agonising fashion, with both men given the same time of 20.12.
He also captured bronze in the Men’s 100 on Sunday and he feels he has a shot against Bolt in the Men’s 200 after running close enough to him while chatting across the finish line in their semi-final.
The current world record, set by Bolt in 2009, is 19.19 seconds.
He’s the ultimate showman who’s never been shy of speaking his mind.
Why? De Grasse said that’s something only Bolt can answer.
The men’s decathlon medals will be awarded Thursday night after the 1500-meter finals.
There was the semifinal the night before, when de Grasse quite brazenly made Bolt work all the way to the line to capture a win, which allowed him to race from his favorite lane – lane 6 – in the final. “I’m absolutely gutted”, the Briton said.
“I said ‘What are you doing, it’s a semifinal?’ But I think he wanted to push me”. “I wasn’t fully happy”, says Bolt.
“When I came into the straight, my body wouldn’t respond to me, I guess age is taking it’s toll”, Bolt said. “He told me you’re going to learn from that, you’re young”.
“I need to get out of the sport”, he added.
Following his latest triumph, which keeps him on course for an unprecedented “triple-triple” of sprint success – with the 400 still to come – the Jamaican reiterated he was unlikely to compete at 200 meters again at a major championship. Dalilah Muhammad and Ashley Spencer will be representing Team USA as they try to capture their first Olympic gold in the event.
This was also Bolt’s eighth consecutive gold medal at the Olympics. “I looked over and I tried to hold on as long as I could”.
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Ashton Eaton has become nearly as dominant in the decathlon as Bolt is in the sprints but the American was happy to defer to Bolt after retaining his title.
