Usain Bolt blitzed the competition in the men’s 100m in an average race by his standards.
Usain Bolt ran in his first medal event in the Rio Olympics, and as expected, he captured Gold. He has won the 100m for the third straight time, and is looking to do the same in the 200m and 4x100m relays as well. This will be his last Olympics, and he wants to go out on a high, just like Michael Phelps.
Even though Bolt started out as a 400m racer, the 100m is his most notable event to date. He owns both the world record of 9.58 seconds which he set in 2009, as well as the Olympic record of 9.69 seconds set in Beijing. He finished this race with a final time of 9.81 seconds, meaning his own world record is still intact. But since he’s retiring, nobody else will ever break it.
Justin Gatlin and Andre de Grasse were widely regarded as the best chance to dethrone Usain Bolt. This was the closest field in years, and even for the fastest man in the world, he knew he couldn’t win by celebrating before crossing the finish line. But that being said, he still slowed up near the end and shot a glance at Gatlin while looking at the scoreboard as he neared the finish line.
It was never in doubt, but it was an average race by his standards. But that’s only because the standard has been set so high for Bolt, and if he doesn’t break his own world record, it’s considered just another day at the office. The race was also a lot closer than it looked. Gatlin clocked in at 9.89 and de Grasse came in at 9.91.
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But despite all that, Bolt still had time to showboat against Gatlin before he crossed the finish line. And that’s why he’s the GOAT.
Never change, Usain.