IEyeNews

iLocal News Archives

Usain Bolt loses final 100-Meter race at World Championships, Justin Gatlin Wins Gold

By CHRIS CHAVEZ From Sports Illustrated

Olympic champion and world record holder Usain Bolt finished third in the men’s 100 meters in 9.95 seconds at the IAAF World Championships in London on Saturday evening. 2004 Olympic champion Justin Gatlin of the United States won gold in 9.92 seconds with his compatriot Christian Coleman taking silver in 9.94.

Bolt was defeated by Christian Coleman of the United States in the semifinal. Coleman ran 9.97 with Bolt easing up before the finish line in 9.98 and locking eyes with the NCAA champion and record holder. It marked Bolt’s first-ever loss in an Olympic or world championship semifinal and ended a 45-race winning streak.

The loss in the final is Bolt’s first loss in a 100 meter final since losing to Gatlin in June 2013 at the Rome Diamond League. Bolt had the second-slowest reaction time of the eight men in the final.

The 35-year-old Gatlin was booed by the crowd in London as many of the United Kingdom’s fans have heavily criticized Gatlin for previously serving a doping ban for testosterone. Shortly after crossing the finish line, he put his finger over his lips to silence the crowd. Gatlin also won gold in the 100 meters at the 2005 world championships.

This marked Coleman’s first individual global championship gold medal. After Saturday’s final, he still owns the fastest time of 2017 with his 9.82 from the NCAA Championships.

Bolt already owns world championship gold medals in the 100 meters from 2009, 2013, 2015 and 2017. Bolt did not win in 2011 due to a false start. Bolt did manage to win his 14th world championship medal, which tied fellow Jamaican Merlene Ottey for the most medals by an athlete all-time.

He also owns eight Olympic gold medals. Last year, Bolt and his teammates from Jamaica’s 4×100-meter relay at the 2008 Olympics were stipped of their gold medal due to a teammate testing positive for a banned substance.

Bolt will turn 31 years old on Aug. 21 and has repeatedly said that this is his final world championships. He will run the 4×100 relay next Saturday.

For more on this story go to: https://www.si.com/olympics/2017/08/05/usain-bolt-loses-100m-world-championship-justin-gatlin-wins-gold-video

LEAVE A RESPONSE

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *