American sprint legend highlights the surprising nature of how Usain Bolt won the 2012 Olympic 100m title.
Usain Bolt and Justin Gatlin have a rich history of rivalry, dating back to their time on track when both were active.
Bolt won the second of his three consecutive 100m finals in London, blowing away a star-studded line-up in the process.
Reflecting on this London final, Bolt and Gatlin shared their own experiences of the memorable race which was the Jamaican record a winning time of 9.69sec.
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“In 2012, I was right beside him (Gatlin) when the gun went, he was one step ahead of me and I was like, how is this even possible. It’s a good thing I’m mentally tough because if you’re not mentally tough, you see that your vibe is broken immediately," Bolt told Ready Set Go podcast.
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Gatlin started the 100m race on the front foot but in the end it was Bolt who won the race. The loss, Gatlin said after the 50-meter mark, it was impossible to catch up with Bolt, who was on the ascendancy before he crossed the finish line first.
The American chimed in with his own account adding: “Going into 50 metres, I can see I’m leading and I’m already thinking about how I’m going to celebrate if I win this race. The next thing I see is black and green on my left and on my right and I’m like ‘woah hold on’ because this ain’t about to become a victory lap.”
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Since Bolt retired in 2017, cut-throat competition in 100m has slowed down, save for last year's blockbuster Paris Olympic Games. Noah Lyles reigned supreme in the French capital, clocking 9.79 seconds in a photo finish, although it's still far away from Bolt's record of 9.58 seconds in the specialty.
Bolt improved upon his second 100m world record of 9.69 with 9.58 seconds in 2009 – the biggest improvement since the start of electronic timing. He has twice broken the 200m world record, setting 19.30 in 2008 and 19.19 in 2009.
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He has helped Jamaica to three 4 x100m relay world records, with the current record being 36.84 seconds set in 2012. Bolt's most successful event is the 200m, with three Olympic and four World titles.