Saviour Bolt guns down Gatlin in final

Usain Bolt rode to the rescue of his beleaguered sport once again as he dashed drug cheat Justin Gatlin’s hopes of 100 metres gold at the World Championships in Beijing.

A smiling Usain Bolt realises he has beaten Justin Gatlin to the 100m title in Beijing. Picture: Patrick Smith/Getty

The Jamaican lived up to his billing as the saviour of athletics as he held off the challenge 
of Gatlin to win in 9.79 seconds.

The 33-year-old American, twice banned for doping, who has been cast as the sport’s No 1 villain, especially in the wake of the doping scandals of recent weeks, had to settle for silver in 9.80secs.

A Gatlin win had looked likely after the semi-finals, where Gatlin clocked 9.77s and Bolt only scraped a win after an awful start. But the world record holder then found his fastest time of the year to take his tally of individual global titles to ten.

“It was a big deal,” said Bolt. “It definitely means a lot because I’ve been struggling all season.

“It took me a while to discover what was the problem and it’s all held together so I’m just happy. I stumbled a little [in the semi] but my coach told me to forget about it and that when it came to the right time, I’d get it right.”