One more Olympic Gold to add to Usain Bolts trophy cabinet. The Jamaican makes it 3 100m Olympic victories in a row
That’s one more for Usain Bolt, the greatest sprinter the world has ever seen.
Bolt, of Jamaica, bidding to become the only person to win the 100m and 200m double at three successive Olympics, is halfway there, roared to a 100m victory in Rio to claim his seventh career gold at his third Olympics.
The crowd picked its side — booing American Justin Gatlin, who had twice returned positive tests to PEDs.
And their hero produced, slamming past the finish line in 9.81s
Gatlin (9.89s) won silver and Canadian Andre De Grasse (9.91s) got the bronze.
Bolt came into the Olympics under an injury cloud, having failed to contest the Jamaican trials because of a hamstring niggle.
But he blew away doubts earlier Monday when he qualified fastest with a stirring semi final victory.
He also looked his usual confident self, applauding the crowd, soaking up the adulation in the cool way that has transformed his sport.
For some, he is the defender of track and fields honour, with the sort’s insiders bracing for the inevitable doping questions a Gatlin victory would raise.
Bolt has seven Olympic gold medals, starting with a world record 100m in 9.69 seconds in Beijing.
Bolt then lowered the world record to 9.58 seconds, which still stands, at the 2009 world championships.
He will chase the 200m on Wednesday and hope to add a tile-triple, when the Jamaican relay team runs on Saturday.
Australian 400m runners Morgan Mitchell and Anneliese Rubie bowed out in the 400m semis. Mitchell got her race all wrong and ran eighth but Rubie had a fighting finish to place sixth.
Linden Hall (8th) and Zoe Buckman, were run out in the 1500m semis.
