Usain Bolt's quest to take home the gold medal in this year's IAAF World Athletics Championships was cut short by USA's Justin Gatlin and Christian Coleman after the Jamaican sprinter fell short of the USA duo's 9.92 and 9.94 records respectively. Coleman, early on, dominated the first few seconds of the race, but it was Gatlin who ultimately won the race with a point of a second ahead of his teammate. Usain Bolt, on the other hand, finished third and unable to deliver his promise to win one more gold.
Usain Bolt's retirement race
According to BBC, Usain Bolt's final year in the athletics competition is marred by issues on his fitness and conditioning.
Despite that, the world's No. 1 sprinter promised to take home the gold in the IAAF World Athletics Championships. His slow start put him at a disadvantage where his reaction time compared to that of Justin Gatlin is at 0.183 against the latter's 0.05. Christian Coleman, despite finishing second, helped Gatlin slow down Bolt in a hold off taking the last 15 meters for the gold.
After the race, during an interview with Bolt, he acknowledged his shortcoming saying "I tightened up at the end and that is something you should never do. I didn't execute when it mattered. I am not fully comfortable in those blocks but you have to work with what you have. I can't complain about that." Gatlin thanked Bolt and said that despite being rivals on the track, they are also significantly friendly about it.
After the race, he said that Bolt congratulated him and even defended him saying he did not deserve the "boos" from the crowd.
Comments on the race
Meanwhile, Michael Johnson; a four-time Olympic champion said he was confident it was Christian Coleman who will take home the gold and not Gatlin. Apparently, he also noticed how Bolt showed a slow start; unable to keep up with the two US athletes.
He also mentioned how the former No. 1 "grimaced" through the race, something that he is not known for in any of his races.
Justin Gatlin, on the other hand, makes an excellent comeback after being banned twice for turning positive on doping. In 2006, Gatlin was slapped with a lifetime ban after testing positive on testosterone, but because he cooperated with the authorities, his ban was reduced to eight years, which eventually came down to four years after Gatlin's camp made an appeal. His woes could be the reason why he received so much "boos" during the competition, something that Gatlin said, he tuned out before the race.
