The 35-year-old Gatlin, twice banned for doping, came through almost unnoticed in lane seven in 9.92 seconds, with Coleman's 9.94 holding off the greatest sprinter of all time.
“I’ve had many victories and many defeats down the years. It’s an amazing occasion. We’re rivals on the track but in the warm-down area we joke and have a good time. The first thing he [Bolt] did was congratulate me and say that I didn't deserve the boos. He’s an inspiration."
As you read this, you are already in the post-Bolt era, with only a 4 x 100m relay to come, which appeared in his schedule as a kind of insurance policy against defeat in the 100m. But this Saturday night shocker was his real departure from the lone-wolf world of sprinting, where he became the most globally recognised sportsman since Muhammad Ali, with a greater reach than a Tiger Woods or Michael Jordan.
In total, Bolt’s work in 100m and 200m World and Olympic finals since 2008 has consumed less than four minutes of the planet’s time. His brilliance has been meted out in 10secs and 20secs chunks, with a false start in 2011 in South Korea the only blemish. But in those bursts, spread across nine years, he has taken up permanent residence in the human imagination, as the embodiment of irresistible speed, packed into an endearing personality. His exuberance, and track devouring stride, have the been the biggest staging posts in world sport for almost a decade.
“I’ve had many victories and many defeats down the years. It’s an amazing occasion. We’re rivals on the track but in the warm-down area we joke and have a good time. The first thing he [Bolt] did was congratulate me and say that I didn't deserve the boos. He’s an inspiration."
As you read this, you are already in the post-Bolt era, with only a 4 x 100m relay to come, which appeared in his schedule as a kind of insurance policy against defeat in the 100m. But this Saturday night shocker was his real departure from the lone-wolf world of sprinting, where he became the most globally recognised sportsman since Muhammad Ali, with a greater reach than a Tiger Woods or Michael Jordan.
In total, Bolt’s work in 100m and 200m World and Olympic finals since 2008 has consumed less than four minutes of the planet’s time. His brilliance has been meted out in 10secs and 20secs chunks, with a false start in 2011 in South Korea the only blemish. But in those bursts, spread across nine years, he has taken up permanent residence in the human imagination, as the embodiment of irresistible speed, packed into an endearing personality. His exuberance, and track devouring stride, have the been the biggest staging posts in world sport for almost a decade.
