It was one of those obscure races that occur during an off Olympic year...Maybe it doesn't mean anything, maybe it's a fluke...but Usain Bolt...got beat! Yup...Got beat by an American!!
Justin Gatlin beat Usain Bolt two days ago to little international fanfare by one-hundredth of a second Thursday to win the 100 meters at the Golden Gala meet — the Jamaican's first significant loss since his false-start disqualification at the 2011 world championships in South Korea.
Justin Gatlin was timed in 9.94 seconds and was restrained in his celebration. The American has won all five of his 100-meter races this year and is shaping up as a serious threat to Bolt at the world championships in Moscow in August.
Usain Bolt briefly covered his face with his hands after the race, then saluted the crowd.
"That was ridiculous — a perfect start and then I just cropped off," he said. "I think it was this perfect start that threw my game off. I have to do more strength work, I guess. I think it needs just some time to get it all back together. At the end it was just not me."
Maybe not...But it was Justin Gatlin....At least two days ago it was!
On a delightful spring evening before a Stadio Olimpico crowd of 52,305, Bolt was second in 9.95 and Jimmy Vicaut of France third in 10.02.
Usain Bolt, the world-record holder and six-time Olympic champion, struggled in the first 50 meters despite his strong start. He started to gain ground on Justin Gatlin nearing the finish but would have needed a bit more track to overtake him.
"At least I got under 10 seconds," Bolt said. "My legs did not feel the energy. At 50 meters I had some problems, but the rest of the race was not bad." said Bolt.
I'm being over enthusiastic...and that's partially because it's a slow news day and I have little to nothing else to write about! This is not the first time Bolt has been beaten in a race..
Still, it was a vast improvement for Usain Bolt from his first 100 this year. A month ago, he won in a relatively slow 10.09 in the Cayman Islands while he dealing with a hamstring injury. Bolt beat one of his training partners, Kemar Bailey-Cole, in a photo finish. Both recorded the same time. Bolt also was beaten by Tyson Gay in August 2010 in Stockholm.
Again...as I said...I'm being overly enthusiastic. Just an obscure race in an off year...couldn't happen again...could it?
"For me it is just going through the season," Bolt said. "Put things together for the world championships. The season is still very early."
This was Justin Gatlin's third Diamond League win in the 100 this year, He ran 9.97 seconds in Doha, Qatar, and a wind-aided 9.88 in Eugene, Ore., last weekend. The wind this time was well within the limit.
Justin Gatlin was racing Usain Bolt for the first time since last year's London Olympics final, which was the fastest final in track history. Bolt won in 9.63 – 0.05 off his world record from 2009. Yohan Blake took the silver in 9.75, with Gatlin the bronze medalist in 9.79 and Tyson Gay fourth in 9.80.
That was Justin Gatlin's first major medal since his career was derailed in 2006 by a positive drug test that led to a four-year ban. He had been the reigning Olympic champion when he tested positive, having won the 100 at the 2004 Athens Games.
He will next run the 200 in Oslo, Norway, next week before he returns home for the Jamaican championships.Justin Gatlin has the U.S. trials this month.
Shame we have to wait until 2016 when maybe these guys will meet again (when it counts) to see who really is the world's fastest human!
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