Usain Bolt restored order to the world of sprinting.
Regaining the 100m world championship gold he
lost through a false start two years ago, the Olympic champion once
again holds every major sprint title there is.
And he shook off rain, a slow start and any doubters Sunday to prove there never has been an athlete quite like him.
Despite getting late out of the blocks in the
downpour, the Jamaican superstar steadily caught up with 2004 Olympic
champion Justin Gatlin and left the American behind with a trademark
late burst of speed that, still, no one can match.
If the result was predictable, the demeanour was not.
At 26, he has left most the hot-dogging that has made him famous behind.
While he used to start celebrating well before
the finish on big wins, he remained expressionless this time as he ran
across the line watching his performance on the giant screen in front of
him.
It took him several minutes of understated
celebrations before he unleashed the mighty ``Lightning Bolt'' pose that
made him famous across the globe.
His winning time was almost irrelevant, 9.77
seconds, .19 seconds slower than his world record. Gatlin crossed second
in 9.85, while Bolt's teammate, Nesta Carter, took bronze in 9.95.
If Bolt did not produce a sense of theatre
himself, the elements did it for him. Lightning flashed over Luzhniki
Stadium half an hour before the final, and the rain started pouring in
as the finalists entered the arena.
To the cheers of about 25,000 fans, the
stadium address system started blaring Bob Marley's classic "Three
Little Birds'' and he was loosening his neck muscles to the lyrics,
"Don't worry, 'bout a thing. 'Cause every little thing is gonna be all
right.''
It was for him. Not his opponents.
Gatlin had beaten Bolt in Rome early this
season, and could take some hope from a blistering start on Sunday. But
once those huge strides of Bolt started catching up with him, it was all
over.
Source: AP
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