Usain Bolt finishes 3rd in his last competitive 100 meters

World Today

Usain Bolt ATHLETICS-WORLD-2017Jamaica’s Usain Bolt receives applause after placing third in the men’s 100m athletics event at the 2017 IAAF World Championships at the London Stadium in London on August 5, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV

The fastest man in the world has run his last solo race. Usain Bolt had his farewell party spoiled when Justin Gatlin beat him in the last 100-meter dash of his incredible career at the world championships in London.

In a tight finish, Bolt was punished for his slow start and Gatlin held him off at the line in 9.92 seconds. American sprinter Christian Coleman took silver in 9.94 seconds and Bolt took bronze in 9.95.

Because of his doping past, Gatlin was booed in London even after the race.  

CGTN’s Dan Williams was there. 

Usain Bolt ATHLETICS-WORLD-2017

Jamaica’s Usain Bolt (R) embraces US athlete Justin Gatlin after the final of the men’s 100m athletics event at the 2017 IAAF World Championships at the London Stadium in London on August 5, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / Jewel SAMAD

Though he will not retire undefeated, Bolt stands in the rarest of company: an athlete who was never beaten when the stakes were greatest. And with a showman’s flair as transcendent as his raw speed — Chicken McNuggets for dinner, his fabled “To The World” pose for dessert and dancing away at nightclubs till dawn — he hoisted his entire, troubled sport upon his shoulders and made it watchable and relevant.

Since his era of dominance began in 2008, Bolt went undefeated at the Olympics — 9 for 9 — in the 100, 200 and 4×100 relay. (One of those medals was stripped because of doping by a teammate on the 2008 relay team.) He has set, and re-set, the world records in all three events. His marks of 19.30, then 19.19, at 200 meters, were once thought virtually impossible. He set a goal of breaking 19 seconds in Rio de Janeiro last summer, and when he came up short, it became clear the barrier will be safe for years.

At the world championships, Bolt’s only “loss” came in 2011, when he was disqualified for a false start in the 100 meters. Jamaican teammate Yohan Blake won the title that year, as well as the Jamaican national championships at 100 and 200 meters leading to the London Olympics. Heading back to London five years later, Blake is an afterthought.

Story by The Associated Press