That was simply epic! The world’s best sprinters took on the might of Jamaican world record holder Usain Bolt in the 100m final on Aug. 14, hoping they can get the better of the 6-time gold medalist. But Usain wasn’t going to let that happen and came from behind to take the gold!
Usain showed his class in the heats, easing into the finals without any issues whatsoever. That injury he suffered at the Jamaican trials, when he tore his hamstring only 5 weeks ago, didn’t appear to be evident as he coasted to victory with ease. His 100m sprint win on Aug. 14 wasn’t a sure bet, but boy did he declare that he really is the fastest man in the world!
Fans thought that Usain may be bested by USA’s Justin Gatlin in Rio, and even when the race began it seemed that could be the case. Justin had a solid lead in the first 50m, but Usain suddenly bolted (pun intended) to the front and defeated Justin no problem with an epic time of 9.86 seconds! Justin wasn’t far behind at 9.94, so he happily took silver — even though he surely thought he had Usain for a split second!
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This marks Usain’s third gold in a row for the 100m sprint event, and his 7th gold overall. The Usain train will next be seen in the men’s 200m sprint on Aug. 16, which is another event the ‘Lightning Bolt’ has been favored to win. Once he gets going, he just makes it look so easy and his leggy stride gets him away from the chasing pack without even breaking sweat! He will also be competing in the men’s 4x100m relay for Jamaica.
Usain, who already is the most decorated sprinter in Olympics history, was hoping to win three titles at three different consecutive Games, and he managed to do that on Aug. 14. It’s such an impressive stat they we can’t imagine anyone else matching that.
But this could be the last time we see the showman competing at the Olympics. “Yes, this is the last Olympics for sure, I have done everything, and have proven myself,” he said at a press conference on Aug. 8. He added, “a lot of people aren’t happy.” We, for sure, will be sad to see him go.
HollywoodLifers, are you surprised by the result? Will Usain make a u-turn come back in four years and compete at the Tokyo? What about our American sprinters, can they go one better? Tell us below!
