Usain Bolt Still The Fastest Man, Beats Justin Gatlin To Win 100-Meter World Championship
Usain Bolt is still the fastest man in the world. The Jamaican sprinter, also the world record holder in the 100-meter sprint category, successfully defended his crown as the fastest man in the world when he beat Justin Gatlin of the United States by the slightest of margins possible, reports BBC News. The arch rivals were competing at the IAAF World Championships in Beijing, China.
Justin Gatlin, the favorite for this year’s championships, finished the sprint with a time of 9.80 seconds while Usain Bolt managed the same in 9.79 seconds. Trayvon Bromell of the United States and Andre De Grasse of Canada were tied for the third spot. Usain’s time of 9.79 seconds is the best of the season. He also bettered his previous best for this season when he ran 100 meters in 9.87 seconds. That said, the current best is still a far cry from his own personal best of 9.58 seconds which, to date, remains the world record.
Unlike previous championships where Usain Bolt used to be the clear favorite to win the title, a string of disappointing performances made his rival Justin Gatlin the clear favorite this time round. Gatlin had also made news after posting a season’s best time of 9.74 seconds. Gatlin has also been in form since 2013. In fact, he had not lost a single race since then. Several betting sides had favored Gatlin to win the IAAF Championship for 2015. Apart from the loss in form, Bolt was also struggling following a pelvic injury, which is what kept him away from the IAAF World Championships for a while.
The gold medal win at this year’s championship is the sixth international 100-meter championship that Usain Bolt has won in succession. While his time for this year is slower than Gatlin’s record when the two competed together, it was Bolt who came first. Unfortunately for Gatlin, in this case, it’s the gold medal and not the season’s best time that matters.
Bolt sent out a series of tweets after his historic win.
Team Bolt all day everyday.. Thanks for the continued support my peeps.. #Bleesed #Thankful #ForeverFaster
— Usain St. Leo Bolt (@usainbolt) August 23, 2015
#BackToBack pic.twitter.com/nHKGo1bEMf
— Usain St. Leo Bolt (@usainbolt) August 23, 2015
The post-race interview with Usain Bolt is embedded below.
Who was your favorite to win the IAAF Championships 100-meter sprint this year?
[Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images for IAAF]
