Usain Bolt regains world 100m crown

Jamaican beats Justin Gatlin into second in Moscow to make amends for Daegu false start

Usain Bolt of Jamaica poses with his national flag after winning the men’s 100 metres final during the IAAF World Athletics Championships at the Luzhniki stadium in Moscow. Photograph: Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters
Usain Bolt of Jamaica poses with his national flag after winning the men’s 100 metres final during the IAAF World Athletics Championships at the Luzhniki stadium in Moscow. Photograph: Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters

Usain Bolt regained his world 100 metres crown and restored some credibility to a sport tarnished by a plethora of doping scandals as he scorched to gold in 9.77 seconds on Sunday.

Fast-starting American Justin Gatlin took silver in 9.85 with Jamaican Nesta Carter securing bronze in 9.95.

As rain fell and thunder clapped around the Luzhniki Stadium, a pensive-looking Bolt mimed taking out an umbrella before the start.

Usain Bolt of Jamaica (centre) crosses the finish line ahead of  Justin Gatlin (right). Photograph: Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters
Usain Bolt of Jamaica (centre) crosses the finish line ahead of Justin Gatlin (right). Photograph: Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters

Disqualified from the 2011 final for false-starting, Bolt made no mistake out of the blocks this time and although trailing Gatlin, directly to his left, at halfway, he surged to the front at 60 metres.

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Gatlin, former world and Olympic champion and twice banned for doping, stayed on his shoulder all the way to the line, followed by Carter and two more Jamaicans Kemar Bailey-Cole and Nickel Ashmeade.

Injured Jamaican Yohan Blake did not defend his title from Daegu, South Korea, while American Tyson Gay, the world's fastest man this year, was not in Moscow after testing positive for a banned substance.