Bolt won a third-straight 100m Olympic gold in a time of 9.81.
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“Going into the call room, (bronze medallist) Andre de Grasse, Trayvon (Bromell), we wished each other well – even Yohan Blake and Usain Bolt himself”.
Those expectations were palpable in Half-Way Tree, St Andrew, where Jamaicans gathered last night, as has become tradition, to witness an Olympic record that is not likely to be equalled anytime soon – if ever at all. He is now well on his way to a whole new level of greatness.
As with his previous performances in the Beijing and London Olympics, the collective expectations of the entire country were pinned on Usain Bolt as he sought to cement his legacy in the 100m finals in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I wanted to run faster but with the turnaround time, we normally have two hours, but we had one hour 20 minutes, it was challenging.
However, Bolt found his extra gear in the final 60 metres and ended up breezing past the American. “Two more medals to go and I can sign off. Immortal”.
However, Bolt showed an expectant Rio crowd he was in great shape by clocking a season’s best 9.86 as he cantered to victory in his semi-final.
And the gold was what he came for.
“I feel pretty proud of myself”.
“I’m happy to be able to come out here and race against Usain – he rises to the occasion when need be”, Gatlin said.
After his victory, the Jamaican hugged his occasional training partner Wayde van Niekerk, who had earlier broken Michael Johnson’s 17-year-old world record in the 400m. The biggest name in the sport was in serious danger of being upstaged.
Yet Bolt may describe this part of his race as sluggish oncemore, as Gatlin left him looking like he was stuck in treacle in the opening stages.
In stark contrast to Bolt’s reception, he walked out to the start line to a chorus of boos. “I work very hard, and I have the respect of my own competitors in the 100 meters”.
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Gatlin – who served a four-year ban from athletics after testing positive for the banned steroid testosterone in 2006 -was booed by some sections of the Rio crowd as he entered the stadium and Bolt admitted he was shocked by their response.
