Usain Bolt was beaten into third place by his old rival Justin Gatlin and young American upstart Christian Coleman in what the Triple World record holder announced was the final individual race of his professional career at the London World Championships.
The King of sprint was dethroned by a well-timed run by Gatlin who burst through at the line to take the crown in 9.92 seconds. Coleman, who got off to a blistering start, was second in 9.94 while Bolt clocked 9.95.
Bolt badly out of the blocks
Bolt, beaten by Coleman in the third semi-final earlier in the day, was again badly out of the blocks and after 80 meters Coleman seemed to have it all sewn up. However the long-striding Bolt went into over drive and almost caught the 21-year-old but seemed to lean too early for the tape and had to settle for third.
Gatlin’s win led to an eerie silence over the London Stadium, after a crowd of almost 65,000 booed him loudly when his name was announced before the race. He was understandably overjoyed by the win that he burst into tears before falling on his knees on the track.
Bolt was gracious in defeat as he hugged Gatlin and congratulated Coleman for their performance.
Gatlin still booed
But fans and photographers were still allover Bolt, loss or not. They still booed Gatlin and cheered wildly as Bolt circled the stadium and waved to the fans.
Bolt’s Jamaican compatriot Yohan Blake, himself a former 100 meters World Champion, could only manage a fourth place finish after also getting out of the blocks slowly.
Bolt and Blake will have a chance to redeem themselves when they will combine with two other Jamaicans to defend Jamaica’s World Championship 4X100 meters sprint relay crown.
