Bolt shines bright, wins another gold in Olympic 100

Not going fast is a matter of perspective.

Usain Bolt moseyed out of the starting blocks and cruised to a win in his 100-meter heat; Justin Gatlin pounced at the gun and ran the fastest time of the first round.

Bolt, in contrast, brought the spectators to a fever pitch of excitement as he strolled in, smiling and waving, to chants of “Bolt, Bolt, Bolt”.

The multiple Olympic champion powered to victory in 9.81 seconds here on Sunday. But fans in the stadium bought into the “Good vs. Evil” – that’s too simplistic a narrative – it was portrayed that way in many quarters.

He said: “I’m really happy but I expected to go faster”.

Gatlin pursued him gamely, the way he has for years. “It might be once in 10 generations that someone like Michael Phelps comes along”. Like most sporting events, the Olympics are star-driven and fortunate to have him. And given the feedback from everyone who’s seen it, you might even say that Spencer is right to feel like the Usain Bolt of photographers right about now. Perhaps most importantly, it is nearly impossible to watch him perform without smiling. Bolt shifted his gears and took over the American in that distance.

This may have been Bolt and Gatlin’s final Olympics. It bodes well for an athlete who plans on racing in the 200-metres and the 4×100 relay.

Bolt, long since cast as the saviour of a sport assailed on all sides by corrosive doubts and doping allegations that have intensified in the past 12 months, said he hoped a new generation of athletes would learn from his sense of showmanship once he had left the stage. Bolt! Bolt!’, was asked about the boos his rival Gatlin was subject to.

The U.S. men play France in the Olympic tournament on Sunday and they’re being dogged by questions over where the dominating team of years past has gone. He won silver in 9.89s with Canadian Andre De Grasse winning bronze in 9.91s.

Jamaica’s Usain Bolt, center, competes in a men’s 100-meter heat during the athletics competitions of the 2016 Summer Olympics at the Olympic stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, Aug. 13, 2016. His longevity is as impressive as his stride.

It also leaves Bolt on track to complete an incredible “triple-triple” of clinching 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay titles for a third consecutive Olympics. “To come back. and win it three times”. I’m back here. I believe in the system.

But some athletes think he shouldn’t be on the US team.

For many, the thought of Gatlin, twice convicted of doping offences, unseating Bolt was an uncomfortable proposition.

“I don’t have time or respect for people who are drug cheats”, Horton said.

On Sunday, he did it again.

Legs ablur, ideal stride, confident smile … it’s just a flawless moment captured in time.