Lochte swam a pair of events in Rio, winning gold in the men’s 4×200-meter relay.
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In London 2012, when Bolt took his second 100m gold, Gatlin was third. Ruth Jebet of Bahrain captured the 3,000-meter steeplechase title, with Emma Coburn picking up the bronze – the first female to win a medal in the event for the United States.
Gatlin has been suspended twice for doping, making him somewhat of a villain in global track and field.
Bolt accused Gatlin of disrespect in the run-up to the Games after the American questioned his decision to pull out of the Jamaican trials with a hamstring strain. The graduate of Pensacola’s Woodham High School now has five total Olympic medals.
Already assured of his legendary status on the track, Bolt also added to his reputation as sport’s No. 1 crowd pleaser as he took a leisurely circuit of the stadium, posing for pictures and shaking a thousand hands before taking time to satisfy the demands of the world’s media.
He won his record-setting third straight gold medal, but his post-race comments were tinged with slams about the scheduling. Because Bolt quickly recovered from his middling start, and using the recovery speed seen in no other athlete in the history of the sport, Bolt burst past Gatlin with just steps left in the race, and further cemented his place in the history books.
“Congratulations to Usain Bolt. I’m not happy with the schedule, and hopefully, they’ll change it back”. Many wondered how he would perform in last night’s race.
“They don’t know me”.
Track’s governing body, the IAAF, sets the schedule and the International Olympic Committee signs off on it. And when Gatlin wasn’t being asked about doping, people wanted to know why he choked in last year’s world championships, stumbling to the finish to lose by one-hundredth of a second to an out-of-shape Bolt.
They were absolutely right to do so. “Bolt has etched his name as the greatest sprinter the world has ever seen”. Near the end of the media gantlet, I was able to get close to the Gatlin, look him in the eye, and ask: Could you have run faster?
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“I guess so”, Gatlin said. “I just came out and gave it all I had”.
