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Home » Rio Olympics 2016 » Rio 2016: Jamaican Usain Bolt wins record third straight Olympic 100m gold medal
 
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Rio 2016: Jamaican Usain Bolt wins record third straight Olympic 100m gold medal

Sahil Bhalla | Updated on: 10 February 2017, 1:47 IST
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#Rio2016: Usain Bolt stamps his authority as 'fastest man on the earth'. Wins 100m race in 9.81 seconds
#Rio2016: Athletics will lose a little bit of sparkle when Usain Bolt retires. For now, he's 100m champion

From Beijing to London and now to Rio, Jamaican Usain Bolt is undoubtedly the 'fastest man in the world'. On Saturday, 14 August, Bolt stamped his authority on that title once again at the Rio Olympics. The Jamaican athlete became the first to win three Olympic 100m titles.

During the introductions, Bolt held up his index finger, signaling that he was indeed no. 1. Then he won the race in a blistering 9.81 seconds to become the only athletes, male or female, to win the 100m sprint three times and at consecutive Olympics.

His main rival, United States' Justin Gatlin and the 2004 Olympic champion took home the silver in 9.89 seconds. Canada's Andre de Grasse won the bronze in 9.91 seconds.

As the race came to an end, Bolt was seen pounding his chest and then blowing kisses to the crowd. With the flag on his back and a toy Olympic mascot, that he eventually gave away, Bolt struck his signature pose known as To Di World.

Here's what he tweeted after the race:

Bolt wasn't the fastest out of the blocks but with 25m to go, he passed rival Gatlin to coast to victory. Bolt's added his seventh gold to his name. He's also competing in the 200m, where he is also going for a third successive gold medal and the 4x100m relay.

Usain Bolt knows that at the age of 29 (he turns 30 next Sunday), Olympic titles are hard to come by, let alone world records. His timing of 9.81 may have fallen short of his record 9.58 set seven years ago, but that didn't matter. What matters was that he won and he won it in style. He has said many a times that this will be his final Games.

This was Bolt's slowest championship winning time. Over the years, he has gradually, ever so minutely, slowed his pace and it is showing as he is on his way to retirement next year. Athletics will surely lose a little bit of its sparkle when Usain Bolt retires.

His focus is on the 200m and getting that world record time down to sub-19 seconds.

Here's how social media reacted to the famous win:

First published: 15 August 2016, 8:14 IST
Rio Rio Olympics Olympics Rio 2016 Usain Bolt Justin Gatlin United States sprint fastest man Jamaica canada Andre de Grasse 100m 100 metres Race
 
Sahil Bhalla @IMSahilBhalla

Sahil is a sports and tech correspondent on the speed news desk at Catch. A gadget freak, he loves offering free tech support to family and friends. He studied at Sarah Lawrence College, New York and worked previously for Scroll. He selectively boycotts fast food chains, worries about Arsenal, and travels whenever and wherever he can. Sahil is an unapologetic foodie and a film aficionado.
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