Usain Bolt beat his controversial rival Justin Gatlin by just one-hundredth of a second on Sunday as he retained his world 100m title in a race billed as a battle for clean athletics.
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Four-time Olympic champion Michael Johnson has said that Usain Bolt’s nail-biting 100m World Championship win over Justin Gatlin represents his “best race ever”.
Bolt recorded his season best time of 9.79 seconds despite struggling with his form all season, dogged by a pelvic injury.
Bolt is 29, Gatlin 33, so it’s worth noting that the two third-place finishers, Trayvon Bromell and Andre de Grassse, are both just 20 years old.
Ahead of Sunday’s final, Letsrun.com reported that sports books officially had Gatlin as the favorite.
Watch the race below. It took me a while to discover what was the problem.
But for a sport mired in doping allegations, this victory meant even more than the others in the wider scheme of things. “I’m trying to get to a legend status and so I need to win all of my races in every championship, so it was a big deal that I got it done and I’m happy with myself”.
“It’s all about running the race and getting it done”.
“I had a good stretch and showed my competitiveness”.
Bolt, back at the scene of his first triple Olympic triumph in 2008, called his Munich-based doctor, Hans-Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfahrt, “a lifesaver”.
The next event, the men’s 400m hurdles semi-final, featured Jamaicans Annsert Whyte and Leford Green who were, however, unable to reach the final round after falling short in their respective heats.
Gatlin, backed by many to dethrone the legendary Jamaican, had to settle for silver as he clocked 9.80secs – a slower time than he had managed in his semi-final earlier in the day.
“I came out here relaxed, no stress and brought it home”.
The new head of the IAAF, Seb Coe, even went as far to say that he felt “queasy” at the prospect of Gatlin, himself a former world record holder and Olympic gold medalist in Athens 2004, defeating the iconic “Lightning Bolt”.
“I leave it up to you guys”, he told the media.
Gatlin simply stated “I’m thankful” when asked repeatedly for his thoughts on the sport willing him not to win. He boasted the five fastest times in the world this year – each of them quicker than it took to secure gold here.
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Bolt is looking to complete a mind-boggling triple-triple at next year’s summer Olympics in Rio-golds in the 100, 200 and 4×100 relay for three consecutive Olympics. Two lanes to his right, Gatlin was as good as ideal for most of the race, but for seven years now, there is no denying the greatest sprinter in history.
