Jamaican sprint superstar Usain Bolt completed the first phase of an ambitious “triple-triple” at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games when he sensationally won the men’s 100 metres final in Rio on Sunday night.
Competing in his final Olympic Games, the 29-year-old battled back from a bad start to win his third consecutive gold medal in a modest season-best 9.81 seconds, to become the first athlete to win a hat-trick of Olympic titles in the event.
He finished ahead of American rival Justin Gatlin who clocked 9.89 to grab silver while Andre de Grasse of Canada sped to 9.91 for the bronze.
Yohan Blake of Jamaica finished fourth in a season best 9.93.
The time was the slowest of all Bolt’s Olympic triumphs after he clocked 9.69 seconds for his first 100m title at Beijing 2008 and lowered the time to 9.63 at London 2012.
The win brings Bolt closer to his goal of winning the 100m, 200m and the 4x100m relay in three consecutive Olympic Games.
“The start wasn’t as good as I wanted but after the semis I was a lot more confident. I knew I got a bad start but I told myself, ‘don’t panic, take your time’,” he said afterward.
“I knew Justin was going to have a good start but I told myself to take my time and chip away the lead. After the semi-finals I was confident I could win this one.”
Bolt described Gatlin as an outstanding athlete who brought competitiveness to the field.
“He is a great athlete without a doubt. He always pushes me to run fast. He makes you be at your best at all times,” Bolt said of the American, the champion in Athens 2004 and the world-leader this year.
Bolt has won every major global 100m and 200m titles since 2008 except at the World Championships in 2011 when he disqualified for a false start.
