World Athletics Championships 2017 : Usain Bolt beaten by Justin Gatlin in 100m final

August 6, 2017
| Report Focus News

Jamaican sprint star Usain Bolt has been unbeatable for years. The ever-smiling Bolt’s 2009 world record of 9.58 in the 100m still remains one of the best performances of all time.

Ahead of the 100m final of World Championships inside the rocking London Stadium on Saturday, expectations were high for the Jamaican to win his fifth title overall in the competition.

A combination of Bolt’s slow start and American Justin Gatlin’s late surge spoiled Bolt’s wish to finish his farewell 100m race on a high. Gatlin timed his surge and dip to perfection to win in 9.92 seconds.

Amid his celebration, Gatlin took a moment to pay a tribute to Bolt who ran his final 100m race of his glittering career. Gatlin bowed to the Jamaican runner and then the pair hugged it out to congratulate each other.

With the win, 35-year-old Gatlin became the oldest winner of the men’s 100m title and bagged his first World Championship gold in 12 years, after winning his first in the 2005 edition in Helsinki. Bolt at least made it to the podium by finishing third in 9.95 behind another promising American Christian Coleman, who claimed silver in 9.94. However, Bolt still has one more race when he’ll anchor the Jamaican 4×100 relay team next Saturday.

Interestingly, Bolt had won this title in 2015 with the narrowest of margins (0.1 seconds) ahead of Gatlin, which was also the fifth successive global silver medal for the American. So, it was a huge sigh of relief for the 35-year-old as he finally clinched the elusive gold medal after so many years. But, it was Bolt who stole the show regardless of the result in London.