The legendary Usain Bolt broke new ground at Rio 2016 by becoming the first sprinter to win three 100m gold medals, finishing ahead of great rival Justin Gatlin. Canada’s Andre de Grasse won the bronze in 9.91 seconds.
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Gatlin, who has served drug bans twice in his career, was greeted by boos and jeers as he entered the stadium – something Bolt hadn’t experience before.
Bolt started the race slowly, but surged past American Justin Gatlin around the 80-meter mark to win with a time of 9.81. After the semi-final my confidence went way up, because I executed that race so well.
“Stay tuned, two more to go”, he said Sunday.
“I am a living legend”, Bolt had declared after retaining his Olympic sprint titles at London 2012. Bolt, however, eventually sped past his Team USA challenger and won with a completion time of 9.81 seconds.
Somebody said I can become immortal, Bolt said after the 100 final.
The only other person at these Olympics who will stride more magnificently over 100 or so meters is Gisele, and that was during the opening ceremony.
Born in Trelawny parish near Montego Bay – where a host of sprinters including the shamed Ben Johnson also come from – Bolt was something special from the start, according to Jennifer Bolt.
Victory on a warm night at the Olympic Stadium left Bolt a 200m victory and a 4x100m relay success away from completing his mission.
“Man, at the end of the day being the oldest guy in the field and to say I’m going to be the oldest guy to get on the podium, it’s a victory within itself”, said the 34-year-old.
By contrast, 29-year-old Jamaican Bolt smiled and waved to a crowd that eagerly complied with his gestures requesting cheers or, just before the starter’s gun, silence.
From his first 100m Olympic gold in Beijing, when the Jamaican astonished the world with his 9.69sec time, Usain St Leo Bolt, has been the real star.
“I’m always going to bring my craziness to the sport”, Bolt said.
He said the short turnaround between the semifinal and final sapped his strength, and Bolt agreed. It’s the first time that I’ve ever come out into a stadium and they (the fans) have actually booed someone. “They want to be part of the competition rather than watching it”, he said.
Normally athletes have at least two hours between the semi-finals and the finals of races at major championships, but it has been reduced at he Rio Games to less than one-and-a-half hours.
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The rehab started immediately, with trips to Germany to see his doctor, then a warm-up 200 in London to prove to his Olympic committee that he was fit for the Olympics. Bolt’s winning time of 9.81 seconds wasn’t even the fastest this year, but it was still enough to capture his seventh Olympic gold medal in seven tries.
