With 9.81 seconds he won the 100m gold medal at the Rio Olympics.
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Gatlin of the USA also went through to the final with a time of 9.94 seconds in the third semi-final while fellow Jamaican Yohan Blake also went through with 10.1.
Canada’s Andre de Grasse took bronze in a personal best of 9.91, ahead of Bolt’s Jamaican team-mate Yohan Blake.
For many, the thought of Gatlin, twice convicted of doping offences, unseating Bolt was an uncomfortable proposition. Van Niekerk stormed out of the blocks and kept going, holding off 2012 Olympic champion Kirani James and 2008 victor LaShawn Merritt, who both ran season-best times to finish with silver and bronze.
“He feels like I’m the next one, and I’m just trying to live up to it”, said De Grasse, who wrapped himself in a Canadian flag for his muted bronze victory lap, while Bolt mugged for the fans and the cameras and stopped for a selfie, and did The Pose – big, likeable hotdog that he is.
Bolt has a chance for two more golds – in his favorite race, Thursday’s 200 final, where he has pronounced he’ll be gunning for the world record, then the 4×100 relay Saturday night. That’s especially true in the 100, where Ben Johnson famously lost his gold medal in 1988 after a positive drug test, and where four of the five fastest men in the record books have also been caught doping.
Gatlin, 34, ran the fastest 100-meter preliminary time of anyone, including Bolt, with a 10.01 to advance to the semifinals.
Despite a chorus of boos from the crowd when he was announced, Gatlin wasn’t holding any grudges.
Injuries had appeared to have left him looking vulnerable for the first time in seven years, and long-time rival Gatlin was the man in form with the season’s fastest time.
“I’ve worked hard like everybody else”, Gatlin said.
He was also effusive in his praise for Bolt. And I’m happy to be able to race against Usain.
“He’s a cool guy, there’s no rivalry between us, no bad blood”, he said. “I had to control my body and listen to my body very carefully”, said Sumgong. “Me and Usain met back in January, we did a lot of things together”.
Gatlin told CNN he was pleased to be able to beat younger sprinters.
“After the semi-final I felt extremely good”.
“He’s showing people out there that the impossible is possible”, said former Baylor sprinter Trayvon Bromell, who finished eighth in the race.
Kenyan-born Eunice Kirwa, who now runs for Bahrain, was nine seconds behind, and world champion Mare Dibaba of Ethiopia took bronze.
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Marvin Bracy, a 22-year-old Floridian who gave up playing wide receiver for Florida State in 2013 to focus on his track career, failed to move on from the semis earlier on Sunday night.
