Usain Bolt defended his Olympic crown with a jaw-dropping victory in the final of the Rio Olympics 2016 100m on Sunday night. The Jamaican became the first sprinter to win the Olympic gold medal in the 100m three times – all three of which came in consecutive games (2008, 2012 and 2016) while his rival Justin Gatlin of the USA finished second.
Before the Olympics, Bolt had run only the fourth fastest time in 2016. But he recorded a season-best time of 9.86 seconds in the semi-final. However, that was still not enough to set the fastest time of the year but good enough to qualify for the final in an injury-hit season.
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It was a showdown between the three medalists in the London 2012 Olympics Games – Jamaica’s Bolt, his compatriot Yohan Blake and USA’s Justin Gatlin. Gatlin had previously won the Olympic gold medal in 2004 in Athens. Both he and Bolt were looking to be the first athletes to win three Olympic medals in the 100m.
100m Final – Starting list
Lane 2 - Trayvon Bromell (USA)Lane 3 - Akani Simbine (South Africa)Lane 4 - Justin Gatlin (USA)Lane 5 - Jimmy Vicaut (France)Lane 6 - Usain Bolt (Jamaica)*Lane 7 - Andre de Grasse (Canada)Lane 8 - Ben Youssef Meite (Ivory Coast)Lane 9 - Yohan Blake (Jamaica)
*Fastest time in the 100m semi-finals
The athletes were introduced to the crowd one-by-one and while Gatlin had a very focused look as he came out, Bolt was much more at ease and soaked in the crowd’s cheers as he made his way to the start line. But he was all business at the start line and shushed the crowd and they reciprocated as they shushed anyone else who was still buzzing in the Rio Olympic Arena.
As the starter’s gun went off, it was the American sprinter who took the lead as Bolt reacted three-thousandth of a second slower than his arch rival. The Jamaican was nowhere in the lead pack at the start as Gatlin sprinted ahead and looked all set to win the gold.
But halfway through the race, Bolt started to inch his way forward and soon it was a battle between Gatlin and Bolt. The American still had a clear lead with a lot of daylight between him and the Olympic record holder.
However, with 20 metres to go, Bolt finally drew level and then passed Gatlin. It was not meant to be for Gatlin as Bolt stormed into the lead and finished with a time of 9.81 seconds. Gatlin only managed to finish second as he desperately crossed the finish line with a time of 9.89 seconds – not exactly one of the fastest races in Olympic history, especially after Bolt had promised a 9.6-second race.
Canada’s Andre De Grasse finished third with a time of 9.91 seconds and he was over the moon to simply win a medal. Unfortunately for Yohan Blake, there was no podium finish this time as he finished fourth with a time of 9.93 seconds. France’s Jimmy Vicaut also had a disappointing race, failing to finish inside 10 seconds.
But it was Bolt’s night as he made history and he will certainly go down as the greatest Olympic sprinter of all time – and officially the fastest man on planet Earth.
100m Final – Results
| # | Country | Athlete | Reaction Time (s) | Time (s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | JAM | Usain Bolt | 0.155 | 9.81 |
| 2 | USA | Justin Gatlin | 0.152 | 9.89 |
| 3 | CAN | Andre De Grasse | 0.141 | 9.91 |
| 4 | JAM | Yohan Blake | 0.145 | 9.93 |
| 5 | RSA | Akani Simbine | 0.128 | 9.94 |
| 6 | CIV | Ben Youssef Meite | 0.156 | 9.96 |
| 7 | FRA | Jimmy Vicaut | 0.140 | 10.04 |
| 8 | USA | Trayvon Bromell | 0.135 | 10.06 |
