Great Races
World Athletics Championship 2015 100m: Bolt reminds Gatlin
Published:Sunday | July 10, 2022 | 12:09 AMDaniel Wheeler - Staff Reporter
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SINCE THE 2008 Olympic Games, Usain Bolt had operated in a class by himself in the sprints, holding every major title on offer and answering every question asked of him regarding his ability to perform on the big stage, save for the false start at...
SINCE THE 2008 Olympic Games, Usain Bolt had operated in a class by himself in the sprints, holding every major title on offer and answering every question asked of him regarding his ability to perform on the big stage, save for the false start at the Daegu World Championships in 2011.
By 2014, it seemed the wheels had begun to come off. Bolt had an injury-plagued season and, by the time of the 2015 World Championships in Beijing, China, controversial World and Olympic champion Justin Gatlin was threatening, with consistently fast times.
The 2014 season was difficult for Bolt as an injury to his hamstring caused him to miss nine weeks of training. While he competed at the Commonwealth Games in the 4x100m relay and set a Commonwealth Games record en route to victory, he would only compete in one individual race that season, electing to shut down his campaign early. In his absence, Gatlin of the United States dominated the campaign, with seven of the 10 fastest times in 2014.
Bolt, in his documentary I am Bolt, admitted he struggled to find motivation heading into 2015 with plans already made for 2017 to be his final championships before retirement.
But he would find it when Gatlin, in an interview with TMZ Sports, guaranteed victory in the 100m final to bring the title back to the United States. Since Bolt’s arrival in 2008, the United States had struggled to get in on the sprinting action with Jamaican one-twos and even, one-two-threes in an Olympic 200, hurting their legacy as speed kings.
“I am going to win. We are bringing it back to the USA. We are going on a tour all around the country with that (gold) medal around my neck like a gold chain,” Gatlin said.
SPARK TO GET TO WORK
It was not an immediate game-changer, according to Bolt, but it provided the spark for him to get back to work.
“As soon as I watched that video, everything changed. I’m saying that I got back my full motivation. I’m not saying that I was saved or it was an epiphany. But I got the feeling in my stomach saying ‘What? He is going to beat me?’,” Bolt said.
“They don’t understand what makes me strive is the fact that they talk all the time. I love competition. So, when you talk and tell me what you are going to do. All it makes me want to do is work hard.”
Bolt’s 2015 season saw him only run three 100s before the World Championships in August and pull out of the National Senior Championships in June, citing concerns over his fitness. He had run 9.87 seconds two races before the World Championships, but Gatlin had gone faster in both the 100m and 200m that season.
For the first time since 2008, Bolt would enter a World Championships where he was not the favourite.
Still, the world was against Gatlin, who was plagued by doping scandals. What would it say about the sport if a cheater were to be World champion? A World Athletics presidential candidate said at the time that “World Athletics needs Bolt to beat Gatlin in Beijing”.
Both Bolt and Gatlin got through their first and semi-final rounds, with Gatlin winning his semi-final in 9.77, compared to Bolt’s pedantic 9.96. Bolt was almost not in that final, stumbling before recovering and expending far more energy for his 9.96 seconds win.
SUBDUED BOLT
In the final, Bolt was more subdued than normal. There was still some of the usual antics, but he looked slightly worried.
Gatlin, as usual, got a better start, but Bolt wasn’t far away. This was the best he had started all season. Bolt caught the speeding Gatlin at 60 metres, the first time all season anybody had been close to him. The pressure told and Gatlin began to overstride, Bolt never faltered at all, taking advantage of the flailing race leader to overtake him over the last 15 metres.
The race, won in 9.79 seconds, was just one hundredth of a second ahead of Gatlin, but it was enough.
“All I keep telling myself is, do not panic! Just run through the line and time this dip, because he’s falling over. Time this dip perfectly,” Bolt said.
BBC commentator Steve Cramm captured the moment perfectly, saying: “He’s saved his title, He’s saved his reputation. He may have even saved his sport.”
He would complete the sprint double again days later, beating Gatlin handily in the 200m. It would be the final gold medal that he would win at the World Championships.